List of military accidents in Taiwan

This is a list of military accidents in Taiwan (formally known as the Republic of China), primarily involving the Republic of China Armed Forces.

1944

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On 23 October 1944, a Japanese passenger transport plane crashed into the Taiwan Grand Shrine on Jiantan Mountain shortly after take-off from then Matsuyama Airfield. Many parts of the shrine, including the Torii ceremonial archway and stone toro lanterns, were damaged in the crash.[1]

1945

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On 18 August 1945 a Mitsubishi Ki-21 crashed after takeoff from Taipei resulting in the deaths of four people including Tsunamasa Shidei and Subhas Chandra Bose.[2]

2007

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In April, eight people aboard a Bell UH-1H military helicopter were killed in a crash.[3] In May a F-5F fighter crashed into base housing occupied by Singaporean personnel, killing the pilots. Nine Singaporeans on the ground were injured and two were killed.[4]

2008

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An S-70C Seahawk crash killed one crew member, injured two and left two others missing, [5]

Two pilots were killed after crash-landing their AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter in the island's north.[6]

2011

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One RF-5 surveillance plane and a two-seater F-5F trainer crashed, killing three pilots.[7] [8]

2015

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In 2015, two United States Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornets made an unscheduled landing at Tainan Airport after one of them developed an engine anomaly in-flight. The aircraft were accommodated in an air force hangar until a Lockheed C-130 Hercules full of American technicians could be flown in to repair the aircraft.[9]

2016

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On 1 July 2016, a Hsiung Feng III missile was accidentally launched from a Republic of China Navy vessel from waters off Kaohsiung towards Penghu. The missile hit a fishing boat at 8:40 a.m., killing one person and injuring three.[10][11]

2019

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In 2019, a Singaporean soldier was seriously injured during nighttime parachute training.[12] He underwent intensive surgery in Taiwan. In 2020 he was flown back to Singapore aboard a Singapore Air Force A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport.[13]

2020

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A ROCAF F-16A similar to the one that crashed on 17 November

In January, Taiwan's top military chief Shen Yi-Ming was killed along with eight other senior officers when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the mountains near Taipei.[14]

In July, Taiwan's Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopter fleet was grounded after a crash at Hsinchu Air Force base, killing the two pilots.[15] Also in July two marines died after their small boat capsized during amphibious training operations.[16]

In October, a F-5 fighter jet crashed and its pilot was killed after it plunged into the sea several hundred meters (a half-mile) off the coast of Taitung County.[17]

In November, a F-16 fighter jet crashed minutes after takeoff from Hualien Air Base.[18]

In December, a hiker on a coastal trail on Shoushan in Kaohsiung was injured by a stray bullet believed to have originated from an offshore firing range.[19]

2021

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An F-5E fighter similar to the one that crashed on 22 March

Two F-5 fighter jets crashed into the sea near the southeastern coast in an apparent collision, resulting in two deaths. The air force later grounded all F-5s and suspended all training missions, after concerns were raised about both training and maintenance.[20][21]

2022

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In January, a F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea while taking part in training exercises. Combat training for Taiwan's F-16 fleet was suspended in the aftermath of the crash.[22]

On 14 March, a Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed into the sea after a mechanical problem while on a training mission from Chihhang Air Base.[23]

In May, a AIDC AT-3 training aircraft crashed minutes after taking off from the southern port city of Kaohsiung during a training mission. The air force halted all academy training flights as President Tsai Ing-wen ordered an investigation into the cause of the incident.[24]

In June, a Taiwanese Sikorsky S-70C(M) crashed, leaving four injured.[25]

2024

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A Taiwanese Dassault Mirage 2000 crashed during a training exercise on 10 September 2024; the pilot ejected safely.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Matsumyama Airfield". World War II Database. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  2. ^ Chaudhury, Sumeru Roy. "How Japan Scuttled Subash Chandra Bose's Plans to Return to India". thewire.in. The Wire. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Army investigating crash cause". Taipei Times. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  4. ^ Chuang, Jimmy. "Fighter crash kills crew, Singaporeans". www.taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Taiwan military exercises canceled after deadly crashes".
  6. ^ "Two Taiwan pilots dead in army chopper crash landing".
  7. ^ "Taiwan 'grounds F-5 fighter jets' after crash".
  8. ^ "Three pilots were killed on Tuesday evening when their two military jets crashed in a mountainous region in Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense".
  9. ^ Michael Cole, J. "US Marine F-18s Land at Taiwan Air Base, Beijing Protests". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  10. ^ Phippen, J. Weston (1 July 2016). "Taiwan's Deadly Missile Mishap". The Atlantic. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Taiwan mistakenly fires supersonic missile killing one". BBC News. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  12. ^ Strong, Matthew. "Singaporean paratrooper injured during jump in Taiwan". www.taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ^ Zhang, Lim Min. "NSF injured in Taiwan parachute training back in Singapore". www.straitstimes.com. Straits Times. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Taiwan's top military chief killed in chopper crash". The Straits Times. 2 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Two pilots killed in helicopter crash - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 17 July 2020.
  16. ^ Chen, Kelvin. "Taiwanese Navy rules out human, mechanical error in marine training accident". taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Taiwan Fighter Jet Crashes, Fueling Worries About Aging Fleet". 29 October 2020 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  18. ^ Brad Lendon. "Taiwan grounds entire fleet of US-made F-16 fighter jets after crash". CNN.
  19. ^ "Hiker shot by bullet allegedly from military shooting range". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  20. ^ Reuters Staff (22 March 2021). "Taiwan loses two fighter jets in apparent collision, third such crash in six months" – via www.reuters.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  21. ^ "Body of fallen F-5E fighter pilot recovered - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Taiwan suspends F-16 fleet combat training after jet crashes into sea". CNN.
  23. ^ Blanchard, Ben; Lee, Yimou; Gopalakrishnan, Raju; Kasolowsky, Raissa (14 March 2022). "Taiwan grounds Mirage fighters after jet crashes into sea". Reuters. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  24. ^ Cindy Wang. "Taiwan Pilot Dies in Third Military Jet Crash This Year". Yahoo.
  25. ^ Taiwan Grounds S-70C Fleet Following Crash
  26. ^ A Taiwanese fighter jet crashes during a training exercise and the pilot is found safe