Taiwan grounds its F-16 fighters as search goes on for missing jet, pilot
- Aircraft will be remain out of service until a safety inspection has been completed, deputy defence minister Chang Che-ping says
- But incident will not derail island’s ‘combat preparedness missions’, which will continue with F-CK-1 fighters taking the place of the F-16s, he says
The island’s air force said the aircraft disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from a base in Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan at 6.05pm. It was about 16km (10 miles) out at sea when controllers lost contact with the pilot, identified as 44-year-old Colonel Chiang Cheng-chih.
A search mission was launched, but as of Wednesday afternoon had failed to locate the missing jet.
Taiwan’s deputy defence minister Chang Che-ping said on Wednesday that the air force had grounded all of its F-16 fighter jets pending safety checks.
“Their normal missions will resume only after completion of the inspections,” he said.
Despite the F-16s being temporarily out of service, the island’s “combat preparedness missions” would continue as planned, with F-CK-1 Ching-kuo fighters – from bases in Taichung and Tainan – taking their place, Chang said.
