Safety testing of the air force’s Mirage 2000 jets is complete and the aircraft are set to return to the skies today, the military said, after a crash earlier this month grounded the fleet.
A Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed on Sept. 10, leading the air force to ground the 53-strong fleet to implement strict air-safety testing.
A Mirage 2000-5 aircraft, serial No. 2047, was conducting nighttime exercises when the engine stalled, causing the plane to go down off the coast of Hsinchu County.
Photo: Liu Yu-chieh, Taipei Times
The pilot, Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun (謝沛勳) of the Second Tactical Fighter Wing, parachuted from the aircraft and was rescued by a coast guard vessel at 10:39pm.
He was sent to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries and was discharged Sept. 13.
Recovery of the aircraft began on Wednesday last week.
All aircraft undergo weekly and pre-flight checks, but this recent round of testing focused on potential causes of the failure with relation to the engines and fuel system, with an emphasis on the drive shaft, fuel filter, fuel pump and ejector seat, the Ministry of National Defense told the Youth Daily News today.
The operation relied on the cooperation of ground personnel, utilizing cross-disciplinary professional knowledge and technical skill to quickly complete checks and enable exercises to resume, the military said.
Weather permitting, the fleet would be ready to return to the skies today after 13 days, it added.
The crash was the ninth serious incident involving the air force’s Mirage 2000s since Taiwan acquired 60 Mirage fighters starting in 1997.
In the nearly 30-year flight history of Taiwan’s Mirage 2000s, seven of the aircraft have crashed, with five pilots killed and eight rescued in such incidents.
Additional reporting by CNA
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