Taiwan’s military says the United States will assist in the investigation into why a recently delivered Apache attack helicopter crashed.
An Apache helicopter crashed on top of a residential building in northern Taiwan on Friday during training. The two pilots sustained light injuries and no civilians were hurt.
Taiwan’s military said on Saturday that a task force has been formed to find out whether the incident was caused by the weather, the crew, or mechanical problems. Among the task force are technical experts from Boeing, the helicopter manufacturer.
Taiwan took delivery of its first six Apaches bought from the United States last November. The helicopters were temporarily grounded for checks after the US warmed the model could malfunction.
Taiwan has so far received 18 of the 30 Apache helicopters it ordered. The rest will be delivered by the end of this year. The order was part of a US$6.5 billion arms package unveiled in 2008.