Air Force says no malfunction reported before crash, grounds T-34C trainers

Kaohsiung, June 2 (CNA) Taiwan's Air Force said Tuesday that pilots reported no anomalies or malfunctions before a T-34C trainer aircraft crashed at an air base in Kaohsiung while carrying out a simulated engine-failure exercise earlier in the day.

Following the crash on Tuesday morning, the Air Force has grounded all of its T-34C trainers pending thorough safety checks, Air Force Chief Inspector Maj. Gen. Chiang Yi-cheng (江義誠) said at a news conference.

The two-seat aircraft, bearing tail number 3414 and carrying 41-year-old Lt. Col. Lu Chi-yu (盧季佑) and 45-year-old Lt. Col. Kuo Chun-nan (過俊男), took off from Runway 36L at Gangshan Air Base in Kaohsiung at 7:47 a.m., according to Chiang.

The flight was intended to conduct a routine flight evaluation of Lu, a chief instructor who had logged 2,114 flying hours in T-34Cs and was seated in the front cockpit. Kuo, who had logged 2,172 flying hours in T-34Cs, served as the examiner and was seated in the rear cockpit, Chiang said.

The aircraft crashed near the northern end of the runway at 8:08 a.m., Chiang said, adding that investigations into the incident are ongoing.

An emergency rescue team later found the bodies of the two pilots inside the aircraft after extinguishing the fire at around 8:53 a.m.

The Air Force has formed a special task force to investigate the cause of the crash, Chiang said. It has also grounded all T-34C trainers, and pilots are using simulators for training in the meantime, he added.

According to Chiang, the aircraft passed a round of safety checks on April 9, and no major malfunctions had been reported since then.

Neither pilot reported any anomalies or malfunctions during the flight test, he said, adding that weather conditions, including visibility, were suitable for flying.

The Air Force purchased about 50 T-34Cs in 1985 as basic trainer aircraft. Around 30 remain in service as of today.

The Air Force has previously said it plans to replace them with either domestically built or imported basic trainers and estimates that the T-34Cs will begin to be decommissioned in 2033.