Air force mounts search for missing F-16 jet pilot


Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The China Post news staff



A search and rescue operation was mounted off the east coast in a bid to save the pilot of an F-16 jet fighter that lost contact with air traffic controllers 28 minutes after taking off from a Hualien air base in eastern Taiwan at 6:50 p.m. yesterday. The military has dispatched air force and navy personnel on a helicopter rescue and search mission.
Coast guard ships and some private fishing vessels also joined the search operation.
Military spokeswoman Chi Yu-lan said the single-seat F-16 fighter was on a routine training mission, and added air force officers were still checking further details about the incident.
Yang Feng-shen, a spokesman at the Hualien Air Base, identified the missing pilot as Major Ting Shih-pao.
He said Ting was on a routine training mission to protect the air space of eastern Hualien and Taitung counties when the incident took place.
Initial signs show that Ting could have ejected himself from his plane, Yang noted.
The search and rescue mission will mainly cover an area 43 nautical miles southeast of Hualien.
Ting, 34, has logged a total of 1,234.5 hours of flight, including 400 hours with the F-16 fighter jet.
He is married and has one son, Yang said.



Link
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/headline.../Air-force.htm

Hope they find the guy... probably his airplane malfunctioned.

I hope they find him...

This is strange two people sent me links saying the Viper landed at a different base and the pilot is alive. Both links don't work did anybody happen to see anything about this?

No idea.......

i hope they find him.....

Taipei - The Taiwan Air Force has grounded its F-16 fleet after one of the jets vanished from radar screens and is suspected to have crashed into the sea.
Yang Feng-sheng, spokesman for the Hualien Airbase, told reporters that the air force has ordered checks on F-16 pilots' personal equipment and oxygen system. It is suspected that Tuesday's incident was caused by flaws in the F-16's oxygen system.
'This is for the safety of pilots. The F-16s will start flying as soon as possible,' he said.
The single-seat F-16 took off from the Hualien Airbase on the east coast at 6:50 pm Tuesday on a night training exercise, and lost contact with the base at about 7:18 pm, when the jet was at about 43 nautical miles off the coast.
The air force launched a sea and air search for the jet and its pilot Ting Shih-pao, but has not found the plane's wreckage or Ting yet. There was no SOS signal from the F-16 before it vanished from the radar screen.
On Thursday, the air force ruled out mechanical trouble as the cause of the F-16's disappearance, suspecting pilot disorientation or lack of oxygen as the main reason for the crash.
Spatial disorientation occurs when a pilot has false perception of the aircraft's attitude and motion. All pilots are susceptible to such sensory illusions regardless of experience or proficiency, especially at night in a demanding combat environment.
The Taiwan Air Force ordered 60 F-16A/Bs from the United States in 1992 to boost defences against China. Over the years, Taiwan has lost five F-16s and several pilots in crashes.


Taipei - The Taiwan Air Force has grounded its F-16 fleet after one of the jets vanished from radar screens and is suspected to have crashed into the sea.

Yang Feng-sheng, spokesman for the Hualien Airbase, told reporters that the air force has ordered checks on F-16 pilots' personal equipment and oxygen system. It is suspected that Tuesday's incident was caused by flaws in the F-16's oxygen system.
'This is for the safety of pilots. The F-16s will start flying as soon as possible,' he said.
The single-seat F-16 took off from the Hualien Airbase on the east coast at 6:50 pm Tuesday on a night training exercise, and lost contact with the base at about 7:18 pm, when the jet was at about 43 nautical miles off the coast.
The air force launched a sea and air search for the jet and its pilot Ting Shih-pao, but has not found the plane's wreckage or Ting yet. There was no SOS signal from the F-16 before it vanished from the radar screen.
On Thursday, the air force ruled out mechanical trouble as the cause of the F-16's disappearance, suspecting pilot disorientation or lack of oxygen as the main reason for the crash.
Spatial disorientation occurs when a pilot has false perception of the aircraft's attitude and motion. All pilots are susceptible to such sensory illusions regardless of experience or proficiency, especially at night in a demanding combat environment.
The Taiwan Air Force ordered 60 F-16A/Bs from the United States in 1992 to boost defences against China. Over the years, Taiwan has lost five F-16s and several pilots in crashes.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/a...uspected_crash

This in the other link I found
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2...-dismisses.htm