Taipei, March 5 (CNA) Taiwan’s Air Force lifted a flight ban on its advanced jet trainer (AJT) Brave Eagle fleet on Wednesday that had been imposed in mid-February after an AJT crashed in waters off Taitung County during a training session due to engine failure.
The decision came after the Air Force and the AJT’s manufacturer, Taichung-based Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), completed all special checks on the fleet following the Feb. 15 incident, the Air Force said in a statement.
Though the AJT aircraft were grounded for nearly three weeks, the Air Force continued to strengthen required logistics training for support workers and used jet simulators to boost pilot training during that time, the statement said.
With the flight ban lifted, the two-seater trainer jets will be allowed to resume normal flight training sessions, it said.
The Feb. 15 crash resulted in minor injuries to the plane’s sole pilot, 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.
Lin was hospitalized for two days before being cleared to discharge from the hospital on Feb. 17.
The Air Force said it is still investigating the reason why the AJT’s engines both stopped working at the same time and have yet to rule out any possibilities.
It has also commissioned a private contractor to recover parts of the crashed aircraft, the statement said.
Two defense experts told CNA last month said the crash may have been caused by a bird strike or a broken fan blade from one engine hitting the other engine.
It was the first Brave Eagle accident that had occurred since the Air Force started to receive the domestically made trainers from AIDC in 2021 to replace its aging AT-3 jet trainers.
To date, AIDC has delivered 42 out of the 66 Brave Eagles ordered by the Air Force. The remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2026.
