離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Team finds personal gear in search for fighter pilot
Premier Su Tseng-chang, front row right, and other Cabinet members bow their heads as they mourn First Lieutenant Lo Shang-hua, who died in an aviation accident on Monday, at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
‘GUARD THIS LAND’: First Lieutenant Lo Shang-hua, who died after a mid-air collision, was married for only two weeks and his wife revealed she is pregnant
/ Staff writer, with CNA
Search-and-rescue personnel looking for an air force pilot who went missing after a mid-air collision late on Monday found personal gear that could belong to him, the military said yesterday.
A search team found one military boot and a flotation vest along with aircraft wreckage on a beach in Pingtung County, said Major General Chang Ming-de （張明德）, commander of the Joint Operations Training Base Command.
However, the military has yet to determine whether the gear belongs to the missing pilot or another who died following the accident, he said.
Four F-5E jets took off from Taitung Airbase at about 2:30pm on Monday for a routine training mission. Two of the aircraft disappeared from radar screens at 3:06pm, 1.4 nautical miles （2.6km） off Pingtung’s Mudan Township （牡丹）.
The air force said the jets are believed to have collided in mid-air during a change in formation.
First Lieutenant Lo Shang-hua （羅尚樺）, the pilot of one of the aircraft, was found unconscious at sea at 4:41pm and rushed to hospital. He later died of his injuries.
Captain Pan Ying-chun （潘穎諄）, the pilot of the other plane, remains missing.
The military mobilized 300 troops overnight to search for Pan within a 9km radius of the spot where Lo was found, including mountainous areas, Chang said, adding that search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing.
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday at a groundbreaking ceremony for a military hospital said the incident was regrettable.
She expressed her “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the family of Lo, adding that she has instructed Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng （邱國正） to oversee the rescue efforts for Pan.
Premier Su Tseng-chang （蘇貞昌） said before attending a legislative session that he has asked the military to determine the cause of the accident and make improvements to prevent similar incidents.
Taitung District Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Tseng Yang-ling （曾揚嶺） said Lo sustained multiple limb fractures and a brain hemorrhage, although he had no severe external head wounds.
Lo, 26, had just gotten married two weeks ago. He graduated from the Republic of China Air Force Academy in 2017 and had 404 hours and 30 minutes of flight time.
Lo’s wife yesterday on Instagram shared a screenshot from a pregnancy tracking app indicating that she is expecting a baby in seven months.
“My husband, I miss you so much, and ‘Little Corn’ also misses his/her father,” she wrote.
“I love you so, so much,” she said. “I know you are afraid that I won’t be able to handle this on my own, so you left me a gift to help me stay strong. I know that you’re still here,” she added.
Lo’s father also shared photographs and videos of himself and his son on social media.
“Your brave soul will stay in the hearts of your family and friends forever,” he wrote on Facebook. “From the sky, guard this land you have protected.”
Pan, 28, got married last year and became a father one month ago. He graduated from the academy in 2015 and has 601 hours and 35 minutes of flight time.
The F-5E is the single-seat variant of the F-5 jet, while the F-5F is the twin-seat variant.
There have been eight accidents involving F-5E/Fs since 2001 in Taiwan, killing 11 pilots, with two listed as missing, presumed dead.
The previous fatal accident occurred in October last year, killing pilot Chu Kuan-meng （朱冠甍）.
The military is in the process of building 66 new indigenous Advanced Jet Trainers by 2026 to replace the aging F-5 and AT-3 trainers.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
