Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) yesterday said a preliminary investigation into the cause of a fatal crash involving two military aircraft on Tuesday ruled out mechanical problems, but promised to explain the cause of the accident once the investigation is completed.
“It is still under investigation whether the accident happened due to weather conditions or human factors,” he said before attending a meeting at the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headquarters.
Kao’s comments came amid a fresh round of accusations from legislators over the government’s failure to modernize its air force in recent years.
Photo: CNA
The accident happened on Tuesday night when an F-5F jet and a RF-5 reconnaissance aircraft crashed into the mountains near the Suhua Highway along the east coast. Three pilots lost their lives.
The crash marked the sixth mishap involving F-5s in the past seven years. The air force now has 32 F-5Fs in its fleet, and it has grounded all F-5 aircraft while the investigation is being conducted.
Kao said the investigation confirmed the two planes met proper maintenance standards prior to the accident and said it was unlikely that any mechanical problem would cause two planes to crash at the same time in the same location.
When asked whether the ministry would ban F-5 aircraft permanently, Kao said the condition of each plane is different because of service hours, adding that the ministry would make necessary assessments on each plane’s situation.
“Purchasing new aircraft is not the only way to solve the problem. Raising the capability of current aircraft and prolonging their service times are also issues to consider,” he said.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
Two siblings in their 70s were injured yesterday when they opened a parcel and it exploded, police in Yilan said, adding the brother and sister were both in stable condition. The two siblings, surnamed Hung (洪), had received the parcel two days earlier but did not open it until yesterday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, police said. Chen Chin-cheng (陳金城), head of the Yilan County Government Police Bureau, said the package bore no postmark or names and was labeled only with the siblings’ address. Citing the findings of a
RSS