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Search and rescue efforts are underway for an F-16 fighter pilot after his jet crashed off Taiwan’s east coast on Tuesday night. The pilot, an air force captain surnamed Hsin, is believed to have ejected from the aircraft, though it has not been confirmed whether the ejection was successful.

The military says 13 aircraft, 11 naval vessels and a total of 119 personnel have been deployed in the search operations.

While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, Taiwan’s air force has suspended F-16 training. Officials say a possible malfunction in the jet’s computer system may have caused the pilot to become disoriented.

The case has drawn nationwide attention, as F-16s are a major component of Taiwan’s arms purchases from the United States, and the loss of one aircraft is significant.

This is a developing story. Follow TaiwanPlus News on YouTube for the latest updates.



Reporter: Alan Lu
Video Editors: Devin Tsai/Alison Nguyen



#TaiwanPlusNews #TaiwanNews #Military #F16

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Transcript
00:00Late Tuesday night, an F-16 fighter jet crashed east of Hualien during a routine training mission.
00:06The pilot is believed to have ejected, though that hasn't been confirmed.
00:10The Defense Ministry says Xin, the jet's pilot, took off at 6.17 p.m.,
00:15but reported losing visibility in the clouds not long after.
00:18He then said he was rapidly dropping in altitude
00:21and mentioned ejecting three times before his aircraft disappeared from radar.
00:25They say a possible malfunction in a jet's computer could have caused the pilot to lose his sense of orientation,
00:32despite passing a required flight medical check and survival training and the suitable weather conditions.
00:38The F-16 has four big killers.
00:40The air is the air, the air is the air, the air is the air, the air is the air is the air, the air is the air is the air.
00:47The last one is the air is the air is the air is the air.
00:50So he has to do it.
00:51The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
00:54Authorities have deployed multiple rescue crews to the search zone.
00:58But the pilot's locator beacon is not sending back signals,
01:02raising doubt about whether he's successfully ejected.
01:05President Lai Qingde has promised that his government will do all it can do to bring the pilot home.
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