A military helicopter crash on Thursday morning claimed eight lives, including Chief of the General Staff Shen Yi-ming. The accident was the latest in a number of deadly crashes that have taken places in recent history.
In 2015, then-President Ma Ying-jeou paid respects to the victims of one of the the worst military accidents in Taiwan’s history. During the Chang Ping Exercise in 1974, two UH-1H helicopters went down, killing Army Commander Gen. Yu Hao-chang and 12 other high-ranking army officers onboard. At the time, this was worst military loss the Taiwanese Armed Forces had suffered in an accident.
In 1990, an army transport plane crashed in Tongshi Township in Central Taiwan’s Yunlin County. The accident killed all 18 military personnel on board, including three officials. Local farmers built a temple near the crash site to commemorate the lives lost.
During a routine exercise in 2007, an army transport helicopter hit a radio tower in the mountains of Qishan Township in Southern Taiwan. All eight servicemen onboard were killed.
The latest deadly accident involving a Black Hawk helicopter added to the military’s record of tragic accidents and has once again drawn concerns over safety of military aircraft.