Suspected Mid-air Collision, Two Taiwanese Fighter Jets Crashed Into The Sea

Fighting Jet F-5E Tiger Taiwan. (Wikimedia Commons/玄史生)

JAKARTA - The Taiwan Air Force (ROCAF) confirmed two F-5E Tiger fighter jets belonging to them crashed in the air and crashed into the sea off the southeast coast of Taiwan during a training mission Monday, March 22.

Each aircraft manned by a pilot, because the F-5E Tiger is a single seater version. Taiwan Air Force and SAR helicopters were deployed to the crash site.

"One pilot was found and taken to hospital by helicopter but later died, while the others were missing. The plane is in an airworthy condition," Taiwan Air Force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei told reporters.

ROCAF immediately halted all training missions, grounding their entire fleet of F-5E Tigers at Chihhang Air Base, the base for ROCAF's F-5 Tiger combat pilots.

This is the third F-5E Tiger fleet crash in six months. Previously, another F-5 fighter jet crashed in October, killing the pilot.

The following month, a much more modern F-16 crashed off the east coast of Taiwan, and the pilot of the plane was also killed. Meanwhile in January this year, a military helicopter carrying top Taiwanese military officials crashed in a mountainous area near the capital Taipei, killing eight people.

The incident has raised concerns about training and maintenance. At the same time, the air force is under pressure to respond to Chinese flights that have repeatedly approached Taiwan.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has warned Chinese planes, including drones, to fly repeatedly in Taiwan's air defense identification zones, trying to undermine Taiwan's air force.

It is known, Although Taiwan's air force is well trained and well equipped, mostly with US-made equipment, Taiwan is dwarfed by China.

Beijing views the democratic island as its own territory and has never abandoned the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.

Meanwhile, the US-made F-5 Tiger fighter first entered service in the Taiwan Air Force in the 1970s. Most have retired from frontline activities, although some are still used for training and as reserves for the main fleet.