Taiwan training plane crashes, pilot dies

Taiwan’s AT-3 jet – Photo: AIRSPOTTERS

According to Reuters news agency, an AT-3 jet crashed while participating in a training mission at Gangshan Air Base in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Taiwan’s National Defense Agency said it had found the pilot’s body.

The AT-3 is an advanced trainer aircraft developed by Taiwan, first flown in 1980 and can be armed.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s office said Tsai was “deeply saddened” by the loss and had directed the self-defense agency to investigate the incident.

This past March, a Taiwanese Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed into the sea off the southeastern coast of the island. The pilot was then saved.

From January 2022, Taiwan’s air force suspended combat training for its F-16 squadron, after a newly upgraded fighter jet crashed into the sea, killing the pilot.

Last year, two Taiwanese F-5E fighter jets plunged into the sea after colliding in mid-air during a training mission.

In late 2020, an F-16 disappeared shortly after taking off from Hualien Air Force Base on the east coast of Taiwan during a routine training mission.

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