Askume North, Sept 10 – A Taiwan Air Force Mirage fighter jet crashed off Taiwan’s northwestern coast on Tuesday night; the pilot ejected successfully, was rescued and taken to hospital, the National Defense Ministry and the official Central News Agency said.
The Ministry of National Defense said the French-made Mirage aircraft was conducting night exercises and was suspected of losing power, and the pilot later survived.
Rescuers found the pilot conscious a few hours later and he was taken to a port and then to a hospital by a coast guard ship, the ministry said.
The plane crashed into the sea near Hsinchu on Taiwan’s northwest coast, home to a major air force base, the Central News Agency said.
Taiwan’s Air Force has suffered a series of accidents in recent years, including the grounding of a Mirage fighter jet after it crashed into waters off the east coast in 2022 .
Taiwan received its first of 60 Mirage 2000 jets in 1997, although the aircraft have been upgraded several times since then. At least seven people have died in accidents so far.
Although Taiwan’s Air Force is well-trained, it has scrambled several times to intercept Chinese military aircraft flying near Taiwan in the past five years, although these incidents were not related in any way to these interceptions.
US-made F-16 fighter jets are the mainstay of Taiwan’s air force.
