Taiwan says 2 dead in military training plane crash

A Taiwanese military training aircraft crashed on Tuesday during a simulated engine failure exercise, killing the two pilots on board, the defence ministry said in a statement. The T-34 plane crashed at 8:08am (0008 GMT) at the northern end of the runway at Gangshan Air Base in the island’s southern port city of Kaohsiung, the ministry said. The Air Force has set up a task force to investigate what caused the crash.

The pilots have been identified only by their rank and surnames, Lieutenant Colonels Lu and Guo. President Lai Ching-te said he was “deeply saddened” at the loss of life, describing the pilots as “heroic” and thanking them for their “sacrifice and dedication” to Taiwan. A spokesperson for the Air Force declined to provide further details when contacted by AFP.

Taiwan’s Air Force uses Beechcraft single-engine propeller planes as the primary trainer aircraft for its pilots, according to the defence ministry’s website. In January, a F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea off eastern Taiwan during a routine training mission. The pilot is believed to have ejected from the aircraft but has not been found.