Black box signal from missing F-16 detected off eastern Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
11/19/2020 03:31 PM
Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) A signal from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of a missing F-16 fighter jet was detected on Wednesday about 9 nautical miles off eastern Taiwan, Defense Minister Yen De-fa (嚴德發) confirmed Thursday.
An FDR, commonly known as a "black box," is an electronic recording device installed in aircrafts to facilitate an investigation in the event of an accident or serious incident.
However, the signal is intermittent, Yen told reporters before attending a budget hearing Thursday morning at the Legislative Yuan, adding that the ocean is about 900 meters deep in the identified area.
According to Yen, a salvage ship commissioned by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) is heading to the area from Hualien Port.
The salvage operation will begin once the location of the F-16 is confirmed by underwater imaging, he added.
Yen noted that air and sea assets from the military, coast guard and National Rescue Command Center continue to conduct search and rescue operations for the missing plane and pilot.
Meanwhile, according to sources, Yen told legislators privately that at least seven signals have been detected by the military from transmitters attached to other parts of the aircraft, including the pilot's seat.
The F-16, tail number 6672, disappeared from radar at 6:07 p.m. on Tuesday, two minutes after taking off from Hualien Air Base, the MND said that day.
The next day, Air Force Commander Hsiung Hou-chi (熊厚基) revealed at a press conference that the F-16 dropped 7,000 feet in 20 seconds, citing the initial investigation.
He speculated that the pilot, Colonel Chiang Cheng-chih (蔣正志), 44, could have experienced spatial disorientation after entering the cloud layer.
(By Matt Yu and Emerson Lim)
Enditem/AW
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