Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/24/2020
By: Flor Wang and Wang Cheng-chung
Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) The Control Yuan, Taiwan's government agency watchdog, censured the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Air Force Command on Monday for their roles in an F-16 crash in New Taipei in 2018 and required them to make improvements.
In a statement, the Control Yuan said its decision was based on the conclusions of an investigative report approved by its Committee on National Defense and Intelligence Affairs on Feb. 20 that looked into the accident that occurred in Rueifang District on June 4, 2018.
Half an hour after taking off from Hualien Air Base to take part in a major annual drill, pilot Wu Yen-ting's (吳彥霆) single-seat F-16 aircraft collided with Wufen Mountain, apparently because of "human error" by Air Force and civilian flight controllers, the report said.
The Control Yuan blamed the crash on negligence and lax discipline at the Air Operations Center under the Air Force Command after finding that five of the officers involved were not fully prepared for the mission in advance and did not carry out the mission based on standard procedures due to a lack of training. [FULL STORY]
