Home Politics Taiwan’s F-16 fighter lost contact during night flight

Taiwan’s F-16 fighter lost contact during night flight

by YCPress

Taiwan’s United News Network just reported that an F-16 fighter plane of the Taiwan Army disappeared from the radar spot during night flight training tonight. Regarding this, Taiwan’s “Air Force” Fifth Wing confirmed that a fighter plane was missing, and other information is being understood.

The report also quoted a report from Taiwan’s defense department at 6:30 tonight, saying that at 6:5 tonight, an F-16 fighter plane took off from Hualien for night flight training and disappeared from the radar spot at 6:17 in the evening.

It is 8 miles (about 14 kilometers) northeast of Hualien Airport. At 6:25 p.m., the defense department sent a “Black Hawk” helicopter to search and rescue, and notified relevant departments to assist in the search.

Taiwan’s military lost a F-16 fighter jet of the same model grounded

Taiwan’s military lost a F-16 fighter jet of the same model grounded Taipei, November 18th.

An F-16 fighter jet in Taiwan lost contact during training on the evening of the 17th.

The military said on the 18th that the same model of the Hualien and Chiayi bases had been grounded and will undergo special inspections.

Based on reports from Taiwan media such as China Times News Network and United News Network, at 18:05 on the 17th, four Taiwan military fighters took off from Hualien for night flight training. 

Two minutes later, the radar spot of an F-16 fighter jet disappeared off Hualien. There was a pilot on the missing fighter, and none of the other three fighters heard the radio call.

Taiwan has dispatched a number of ships and aircraft to search and rescue.

The missing aircraft and pilots have not been found. The relevant person in charge of Taiwan’s

defense department said that 12 aircraft have been planned to participate in

the search from 18 to 19 at 6 a.m. The follow-up depends on the situation.

Taiwan F-16 fighter lost

Taiwan F-16 fighter lost According to a report by the Central News Agency, a senior captain said that the sea

off Hualien is a steep-descent trench, with a depth of more than 1,000 meters at 3 nautical miles offshore.

The position where the fighters lost contact is about 8 nautical miles off the northeast of Hualien Airport. The estimated sea depth is about 1,300. Meters, plus the Shanghai current is strong, and the search and rescue is difficult.

Taiwan purchased 150 F-16 fighters from the United States in 1992. Since the first batch of fighters arrived in Taiwan in 1997, there have been 8 crashes or missing connections. 

Since the beginning of this year, the Taiwan military has crashed or lost connection with 4 military aircraft, including UH-60M

Black Hawk helicopters, OH-58D reconnaissance helicopters, F-5E fighters and the F-16 fighter aircraft this time, causing more than 10 deaths.

LAST UPDATE : Taiwan media revealed that the missing F-16 fighter plane of the Taiwan military is suspected of being lost in space: it is too late to ask for help

According to the latest press conference report, the missing plane pilot Jiang Zhengzhi fell into the sea from a high altitude, suspected of being lost in space. 

The head of the Taiwan Air Force, Xiong Houji, said that the possibility of mechanical failure of the fighter plane is low, and the possibility of space confusion cannot be excluded. 

In addition, the Taiwan Navy’s “Jinjiang Ship” has received signals from the survival positioning equipment and continues to search and rescue Jiang Zhengzhi.

Taiwan Air Force Fifth United Captain Xie Risheng said that a total of 4 planes were performing night flight training on the 17th. Jiang Zhengzhi drove the No. 2 plane. After the wingman took off, the radar did not see the F-16.

The final light spot disappeared and the height was estimated to be over 6000 feet. The location of the missing connection was about 8 nautical miles northeast of Hualien Airport.

No radio call was heard from the Air Force Tower, and no radar was displayed. According to the preliminary investigation data of the Taiwan military, at 6 o’clock in the evening on the 17th, there was light rain in the sky.

The pilot reported sparse clouds at 2000 feet and dense clouds at 4000 feet to 7000 feet, all of which were visible.

According to Taiwan’s TVBS, this is the second crash of the Taiwan Air Force in just 20 days. 

Taiwan’s “Central News Agency” also counted all the crashes of Taiwan’s F-16 fighters over the past 20 years in service.

A total of 7 crashes resulted in the deaths of 7 pilots.