A 41-year-old Air Force officer in Taiwan died on 21 January after allegedly being sucked into the engine of a fighter jet during a routine inspection.
The incident occurred at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Force Base in Taichung. The officer, identified by her surname Hu, was inspecting an Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) aircraft shortly after it landed.
According to the Air Force Command Headquarters, the inspection began before the jet’s engines were turned off, leading to the fatal accident.
Sergeant Hu was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead at 11.40am. Her mother reportedly collapsed in tears upon hearing the news.
The circumstances leading to the fatal incident remain unclear and are under investigation.
Hu had served in the Taiwanese military for 18 years and was transferred from an office role to a field unit in 2024, local media reported.
The Air Force has pledged a thorough investigation and a review of protocols to prevent such incidents in the future. "We will cooperate fully with investigative authorities and provide complete support to the officer’s family," the Air Force Command stated.
The command also dismissed media speculation that an instructor stepping on the plane’s throttle caused the accident, urging the public not to spread unverified information.
As a precaution, the central airbase has temporarily suspended operations of IDF fighter jets.
The IDF, developed by Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, is a twin-engine, all-weather, multipurpose combat aircraft designed for high performance at a lower cost. Aimed to replace aging US-designed F-104 and F-5 jets, the IDF is a locally-developed fighter aircraft built during the 1980s, reported Newsweek.
It is routinely used in military drills, to counter and prepare against Chinese aggression. Earlier last month, the Taiwanese Air Force organised “emergency takeoff” and nighttime training exercises at the Ching Chuan Kang base to the combat readiness of the IDF fighter aircraft.
In December last year, the IDF jets were included in the air force’s joint exercises with French pilots as well.
