Mirage 2000 crashes into sea during training exercise in Taiwan, pilot rescued

A Mirage 2000 single-seat fighter lost power and crashed into the waters off Hsinchu County, temporarily disappearing from the radar, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense reported.   

A Mirage 2000 fighter jet, belonging to the 2nd Tactical Fighter Wing of the Air Force, took off from Hsinchu Air Force Base (HSZ) at 20:05 local time for a regular night-time training exercise. However, around 20:35 local time, the aircraft suddenly lost power and crashed into waters off the coast of Hsinchu County. 

The accident, which took place on September 10, 2024, occurred 16.7 miles southwest of Hsinchu City, Taiwan, the defense ministry said. 

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the Mirage’s 2000 pilot Hsieh Pei-hsun managed to eject from the aircraft and parachuted in an area with one-meter-high waves and a water temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius.  

A search and rescue team with air and sea units was sent out after the aircraft vanished from the radar soon after the crash. A few hours later, around 22:20 local time, a Coast Guard patrol boat located the pilot in the waters near Wai-Pu Fishing Port in Miaoli County. 

Coast guard officials reported that the pilot was conscious and had stable vital signs when he was taken onto the deck of a rescue boat at around 22:39 local time. The pilot was then taken to Ton-Yen General Hospital for further examination.  

“Thank you to all the police, navy and marine patrols for the search and rescue,” Kuan Bi-ling, Ocean Affairs Council Minister, wrote on Facebook. 

Hsieh reportedly suffered contusions to his neck, back and hands but is currently stable and can walk around, according to a Taipei Times report published on September 11, 2024. 

Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo has ordered a full investigation into cause of the crash.  The post Mirage 2000 crashes into sea during training exercise in Taiwan, pilot rescued appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source