Grounded earlier this month, Taiwan's Mirage-2000s back in the air

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's Mirage-2000 fighters returned to normal flying operations early Tuesday after being grounded for safety checks following a crash earlier this month, a military source has told CNA.

Flight operations resumed when a twin-seated Mirage-2000 co-piloted by Maj. Gen. Pan Tung-chu (潘東櫸), the leader of the Hsinchu-based Air Force's 2nd Tactical Fighter Wing, took to the air on Tuesday morning, according to the unnamed source.

Another pilot was shown in the plane with Pan in an Air Force photo, but no further details were provided on the individual.

The resumption of normal flight operations came after the Air Force lifted the grounding order for all of Taiwan's 50-plus Mirage-2000s following the completion of a round of safety checks in the wake of an incident on Sept. 10.

The accident occurred at around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 during a training operation over waters off Hsinchu County.

The jet's sole pilot, Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun (謝沛勳), was later rescued by Coast Guard Administration personnel. He was hospitalized with minor injuries, but has since been discharged and is waiting for clearance to resume flying missions.

According to the Air Force, preliminary indications were that one of the crashed fighter's engines lost thrust before the aircraft crashed, but the investigation into the incident was ongoing.