Failure to learn from mistakes has contributed to five major military aviation safety incidents in the past two years, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan.
These incidents resulted in the deaths of 12 personnel, as well as two service members who remain missing, said the report, which was sent to the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Saturday.
Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) is scheduled to attend a meeting of the committee today.
Photo provided by the military via CNA
The frequency of crashes proves that military aviation units have not learned from the past, the report said, adding that the military must study the causes of the disasters thoroughly to prevent them.
The recent air crashes were caused by human error, mechanical failure or environmental hazards, and could have been prevented, it said, adding that the risks could be mitigated by improvements to training, planning, leadership and personnel evaluation.
The military must establish a culture of flight safety, which is not only the responsibility of pilots and commanding officers, but also of each ground crew member, the report said.
The ministry is considering arranging for technically accomplished veteran pilots to give lectures to aviation units and to have training on emergency and ejection procedures and parachute skills every month until F-5 pilots obtain improved ejector seats, the report said.
Other methods for broadening the military’s flight safety knowledge under review include studying air disasters in foreign countries, talking with civilian experts in the public and private sectors, and participating in international dialogue and conferences.
The ministry report identified a slew of other areas that require improvement, including the management of military resources, mission briefing practices, the training curriculum, flight discipline, the standardization of flight practices, preventive maintenance and flight checks.
However, it cautioned that the armed forces must not reduce flight training due to increased demand to meet safety standards, it said.
The country needs well-trained pilots to maintain the combat power necessary to defend its airspace, without which Taiwan cannot be defended, the report said.
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