The defense ministry says that the accidental firing of a missile last Friday, which killed a civilian and injured three others, was “a product of many mistakes.” Deputy Defense Minister Lee Hsi-min said that if you eliminate any one of the mistakes in the chain of events, the mishap would not have occurred.
More of the details came to light on Monday when Rear Admiral Mei Chia-shu answered questions in a legislative committee meeting.
One lawmaker asked why the missile was activated when during a simulated military exercise. Mei explained that it was activated in order to conduct an inspection of the equipment.
“The system was engaged at 8am, and the chief petty officer ordered the petty officer to watch over the system because they were going to inspect the equipment. It had to be in that mode in order to ensure there were no irregularities with system and the missiles. If it is in training mode, it is impossible to verify the status of the missiles," said Mei.
Deputy Minister Lee said that perhaps improvements could be made to the missile systems. But he said it was a fact that the navy had failed to follow standard operating procedures.
When asked why a petty officer was left to man the system without a higher ranking officer present, Lee said that the commander is very busy during simulated exercises, and that could have been a contributing factor.