Broken fan blade may have caused jet's double engine failure: Experts

Taipei, Feb. 16 (CNA) Two defense experts on Saturday said that a broken fan blade from one engine hitting the other may be behind the crash of a Brave Eagle trainer jet that suffered double engine failure off the coast of Taitung.

A two-seater indigenous advanced jet trainer (AJT), codenamed Brave Eagle, crashed around 8:40 a.m. Saturday at five nautical miles from Taitung County during a training mission.

The sole occupant of the jet trainer was Air Force Major-in-Training Lin Wei (林瑋), who was able to eject and parachute to safety after both of the aircraft's engines failed, the Air Force said.

The 34-year-old Lin displayed mild signs of hypothermia following his rescue and has since been placed under observation at the Mackay Memorial Hospital Taitung Branch, doctors said.

Asked for comment on the Brave Eagle's double engine failure, retired Air Force Lieutenant General Chang Yen-ting (張延廷) and Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), an associate research fellow at the military-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, both told CNA that a broken fan blade from one of the plane's two engines accidentally hitting the other could have been a potential cause.

According to Chang, a broken fan blade is a more likely explanation for Saturday's crash, as it is extremely rare for other common sources of engine failures - such as bird strikes, compressor stalls, malfunctioning gears, and lubrication and main fuel system issues - to cause both engines to fail at the same time.

Shu said he did not believe the AJT had any major design flaws as the trainer is based on the Air Force's long-serving Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF).

Saturday's incident marked the first time a Brave Eagle had suffered an accident since the Air Force started to receive the planes from Taichung-based aircraft maker, Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) in 2021 to replace its aging AT-3 jet trainers.

To date, AIDC has delivered 41 out of 66 Brave Eagles ordered by the Air Force. The remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2026.

As of press time, the Air Force has yet to locate the whereabouts of the crashed trainer, which ditched in waters off the coast of Taitung.

Meanwhile, doctors told CNA Lin Wei's condition has continued to stabilize, adding that the pilot could be released from the hospital as soon as Monday depending on X-ray and related test results.