Taiwan’s Air Force has suspended all flight training missions after an AT-3 jet trainer crashed in Kaohsiung Tuesday morning.
The crash happened about five minutes after takeoff and killed the pilot. This is the second fatal accident the air force has experienced this year and the fourth accident involving an AT-3 in the past decade.
Air force chief Huang Chih-wei says the aircraft had completed more than 6000 hours of flight time and was in good working order with no major maintenance issues.
The plane was piloted by 23-year-old Hsu Ta-chun. Hsu had logged more than 116 hours of flight duty and had 24 hours of flight experience on the AT-3. This was his second solo training mission.
President Tsai Ing-wen expressed deep condolences to the family of the pilot killed and ordered an investigation into the cause of the incident.