President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday asked the Ministry of National Defense to swiftly investigate the cause of an F-16V jet crash on Tuesday and to provide full assistance to the family of the pilot, air force Captain Chen Yi (陳奕), who is believed dead.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) quoted Tsai as issuing the directive, after Chiayi County Chief Prosecutor Tsai Ying-chun (蔡英俊) late on Friday said that human remains retrieved from the crash site the previous day are from the missing pilot.
A comparison of recovered tissue to a DNA sample taken from Chen’s mother confirmed that it was that of the pilot, Tsai Ying-chun said.
Photo: CNA
Chen’s family yesterday performed a “soul summoning” (招魂儀式), a traditional Taiwanese folk ritual to call for the deceased soul to return home, near the site of the crash.
Heavy-duty equipment and machinery, including excavators and sand dredgers, were yesterday deployed to remove mud and sand from the seafloor around the crash site with the hope of finding more of Chen’s remains, the military said.
Wang Tzu-li (王自立), an air force spokesperson, said that although the location of the crash site has been determined, the military believes the cockpit could be buried deep in the soft sand seafloor.
The F-16V jet piloted by Chen, with the serial No. 6650, disappeared from radar screens at 3:23pm on Tuesday, about 30 minutes after it took off from Chiayi Air Base on a routine training mission with another aircraft.
The jet had just completed a series of simulated missile launches, when it abruptly nosedived into the ocean, according to accounts given by the other jet pilot, a ground controller and eyewitness on the Chiayi coast.
Late on Thursday, search and rescue teams said that they had retrieved what were believed to be body parts and a badly damaged aviator suit worn by the 28-year-old pilot at about 4pm near where eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane crash.
The discovery was made during search and rescue efforts by 348 personnel and after deploying a ship, nine boats and conducting 28 air sorties.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS