A Belarusian man was arrested after allegedly attempting to climb into the wheel well of an airplane at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday.
The man entered the restricted zone around the airport and ran toward China Airlines (中華航空) Flight CI28, which was on a runway waiting to take off, before attempting to climb its landing gear, police said.
The man appeared to be attempting to stow away on the aircraft, police said, adding that it was the first such incident in the history of the airport.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
The man was spotted by the pilot of an Asiana Airlines airplane on a nearby taxiway, who immediately contacted the control tower, police said.
The China Airlines aircraft aborted takeoff and waited for airport security, who restrained the man until police arrived.
Police said that the man refused to speak after his arrest, but added that they attempted to gather more information based on his fingerprints and retinal scans.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
There was no record of the man passing through immigration to enter Taiwan, nor did he have a criminal record, police said, adding that they were not ruling out that he entered the nation illegally.
The man’s bag contained a reflective vest, a gas burner and several lighters, as well as an “incomprehensible drawing,” police said.
An immigration official fluent in Russian was called in to attempt to communicate with the intruder, but the man refused to speak, police said.
The man’s identity had not been determined as of press time last night.
Flight CI28 had been scheduled to depart for Palau at 1:35pm, police said, adding that all 149 passengers on board were placed on another aircraft that departed at 4:20pm.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS