A tail rotor failure might have caused a Taiwanese Navy S-70C anti-submarine helicopter to crash in Kaohsiung during a training mission on Wednesday, a preliminary inquiry has shown.
The aircraft “made a hard landing” on the tarmac of the Kaohsiung Zuoying naval base on Wednesday at about 4pm, injuring all four crew members, with one in critical condition, navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Chiang Cheng-kuo (蔣正國) said at a news conference yesterday.
Accounts from air traffic controllers and the helicopter’s pilots pointed to a tail rotor failure, Chiang said, adding that no other mechanical problems were encountered before the incident.
Photo: CNA
An official cause of the crash has not been determined pending investigation, he said.
The crew chief, surnamed Liu (劉), suffered the most severe injuries and is in hospital in critical condition, Ministry of National Defense Medical Affairs Bureau official Chen Yuan-hao (陳元皓) said.
Liu sustained second and third-degree burns on 95 percent of his body, and has a subarachnoid hemorrhage — bleeding between the brain and its surrounding membrane, Chen said.
The other crew members are in stable condition after being treated at a military hospital in Kaohsiung, including a chief inspector surnamed Kuo (郭), who has second and third-degree burns on 20 percent of his body, Chen said.
The pilot, surnamed Chen (陳), and co-pilot, surnamed Cheng (鄭), have relatively minor injuries, such as rib fractures and lacerations to the face and limbs, he said.
The navy said the helicopter was severely damaged, and it would assess whether repair is possible.
The crash was the fourth military aircraft accident this year, following crashes of an F-16 fighter, a Mirage 2000 fighter and an AT-3 trainer, resulting in the deaths of two pilots.
Taiwan’s Naval Antisubmarine Aviation Group has 18 S-70Cs, which have been in service since 1991, including the one that crashed on Wednesday.
Three other S-70C-related incidents that resulted in severe damage to the aircraft occurred in 1994, 2005 and 2008.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS