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Two killed in air force training plane crash

ROC Central News Agency

2010/12/15 22:47:07

By Emmanuelle Tzeng and Sofia Wu

Kaohsiung, Dec. 15 (CNA) Two pilots were killed Wednesday when an Air Force Academy T-34 Mentor trainer plane crashed in southern Taiwan during a routine training mission.

It was the second crash this year involving a T-34 Mentor. In January, a trainer of the same type went down during a training flight in southern Taiwan, also killing two pilots aboard.

In the latest accident, the 49-year-old flight instructor, Niu Peng-yu, and Air Force Academy cadet Liu Che-hung, 25, were killed when the aircraft went down in Liouguei Township, Kaohsiung County, Air Force officials said.

The plane took off from the academy in the county's Gangshan Township at 1:08 p.m., but disappeared from radar at 2:02 p.m., the officials said.

The bodies of the two pilots have been recovered, but the cause of the crash was not immediately clear, the officials said. A special team has been formed to investigate the cause of the crash, they said.

It was the eighth T-34 Mentor to crash since the U.S.-made trainer aircraft was introduced in Taiwan in 1985.

Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lin Yu-fang, who is familiar with defense affairs, said the aircraft in Taiwan's T-34 fleet are only midway through their operating lifespan and that more than 20 other countries around the world also use this type of plane for air force pilot training.

However, after the two crashes this year involving that aircraft model, the military should ground the rest of the fleet for thorough safety and maintenance checks to prevent other tragedies, he suggested.