Taiwan says 2 dead in military training plane crash
TAIPEI: A Taiwanese military training aircraft crashed on Tuesday during a simulated engine failure exercise, killing the two pilots on board, the defense ministry said in a statement.
The T-34 plane crashed at 8:08 a.m. (0008 GMT) at the northern end of the runway at Gangshan Air Base in the island’s southern port city of Kaohsiung, the ministry said.
The Air Force has set up a task force to investigate what caused the crash. The pilots have been identified only by their rank and surnames, Lt. Colonels Lu and Guo.
President Lai Ching-te said he was “deeply saddened” at the loss of life, describing the pilots as “heroic” and thanking them for their “sacrifice and dedication” to Taiwan.
A spokesperson for the Air Force declined to provide further details when contacted by AFP.
Taiwan’s Air Force uses Beechcraft single-engine propeller planes as the primary trainer aircraft for its pilots, according to the defense ministry’s website.
The planes were first delivered to Taiwan in 1984.
In January, a F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea off eastern Taiwan during a routine training mission. The pilot is believed to have ejected from the aircraft but has not been found.
