Experts call for rethink after large number of fatal Air Force crashes
ROC Central News Agency
02/02/2022 04:17 PM
By Joseph Yeh, CNA staff reporter and Matt Yu
On the afternoon on Jan. 11, a newly-upgraded F-16V fighter jet piloted by 27-year-old Captain Chen Yi (陳奕) disappeared from radar screens about 30 minutes after it took off from southwestern Chiayi air base on a routine training mission.
The aircraft had just completed a series of simulated missile launches when it abruptly nosedived into the sea, according to accounts given by another jet pilot, a ground controller, and eyewitnesses in Chiayi.
After days of extensive searches, Chen's remains and the wreckage of the jet were found in an area off the Aogu Wetlands in Chiayi.
The latest incident is the seventh military aircraft crash since 2017, involving one Mirage 2000, three F-5Es and three F-16s, leading to the deaths of seven Taiwanese pilots, all of them in their 20s or early 30s.
The high incidence of military aircraft crashes has raised public concern about the cause of these incidents? Is it the aging aircraft Taiwan uses? Or is it pilot error?
Another question, and probably a more important one for the general public, is whether Taiwanese pilots are capable of defending the country during wartime if so many are dying on regular training missions?
On that first question, a report released by Taiwan's military in March 2021 indicates that pilot error was the cause of 38 out of a total of 52 F-5 fighter crashes since the aircraft entered service in 1975.
The military did not provide details on the cause of crashes for other fighter jets the Taiwan Air force uses.
Briefing lawmakers on these findings in March 2021, Deputy Minister of National Defense Chang Che-ping (張哲平) said "mechanical malfunctions can occur, and the weather can change at any minute in the air, but it is up to the pilot to fly the aircraft back safely," adding that better training is needed to prevent such incidents.
The Air Force recently announced efforts to beef up training for pilots at air bases nationwide to ensure they are prepared for every possible scenario during missions.
If a lack of training is at least partly to blame for the large number of military plane crashes in Taiwan, then the daily incursions by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes into the nation's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the past few years has exacerbated that problem.
In 2021, the PLA Air Force conducted 961 sorties into Taiwan's ADIZ, more than double the total number in 2020, which stood at 380.
On each occasion, Taiwan's Air Force sent fighter jets to intercept the PLA aircraft, but while the dramatic increase in incidents has forced pilots and fighters to maintain a higher degree of combat readiness it also means they are always on the edge.
However, the fighters sent to intercept PLA aircraft are invariably flown by senior pilots who have more experience of such high pressure missions where one misjudgment could lead to war.
According to retired Air Force Lieutenant General Chang Yen-ting (張延廷), these more experienced and senior pilots also double as instructors for junior pilots like Chen.
The problem is the more these senior pilots conduct interception missions the less time they have to teach younger pilots like Chen, he told CNA.
This is probably why Chen, who had flown F-16Vs for nearly two years at Chiayi Base had only accumulated a total of 62 flying hours.
According to Chang, F-16 pilots are normally supposed to fly 10-15 hours per month, but Chen flew an average of only three hours per month before the crash.
"The insufficient flying hours means a pilot in training cannot accumulate enough real world experience," he warned.
In response, Taiwan's Air Force has insisted that Chen had completed all required training hours both on simulators and actually flying F-16Vs.
The more important question is perhaps what can Taiwan's Air Force do to lower the incidence of crashes while protecting the nation against the increasing Chinese threat?
Chang has proposed that the Air Force should consider recruiting retired Air Force pilots under the age of 65 with more than 1,000 flying hours under their belt to serve on a reserve combat wing.
The Air Force should take advantage of these veterans' experience and skills to relieve the pressure on the regular force in defending the country, he said.
Echoing Chang's viewpoint, Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow with local think tank National Policy Foundation, told CNA that forming such a reserve combat wing would also ensure the Taiwan Air Force has more backup pilots that can be mobilized within 48 hours of a cross-strait war breaking out.
This proposal would also enable the Air Force to retain the talents of pilots who have far more flying experience than their younger counterparts but have to leave the armed forces due to their age, he added.
Meanwhile, Chang also proposed that Taiwan should consider sending lower speed planes to intercept Chinese aircraft in the future instead of sending high speed fighter jets as it currently does.
In addition, Taiwan's existing backbone fighters, F-16s, Mirage 2000s and IDF jets have all been in service for more than 20 years, Chang noted.
Since Taiwan's military currently has limited numbers of low-speed aircraft, Chang suggested that the defense ministry should purchase more light reconnaissance aircraft or UAVs to monitor Chinese warplanes flying in Taiwan's ADIZ.
This would allow the military to reduce maintenance costs for the nation's fighter jets and maintain a higher Mission Capable Rate to defend the country during wartime, Chang added.
On the other hand, Chieh told CNA that currently all pilots-on-training use F-5E flight trainers before going on to fly next generation fighter jets like F-16s and Mirage 2000s. In other words, they need more time to adapt to flying F-16 and Mirage 2000 fightersafter being posted to combat units to carry out daily missions, he said.
Taiwan is currently building its own indigenous advanced jet trainer (AJT), codenamed Yung-Ying or "Brave Eagle," to replace the military's decades-old AT-3 trainer aircraft and F-5E/F lead-in fighter trainers.
Unfortunately, it will take another four years before local aircraft maker Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) delivers a total of 66 AJTs to the Air Force by June 2026.
Chieh expressed hope that AIDC will be able to deliver the AJTs in batches on time and on schedule so that trainees will be able to take advantage of the AJT sooner and thereby more easily make the adjustment to flying next generation fighters like F-16s. Enditem/AW
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