Kaohsiung: Taiwan's Air Force announced Tuesday that no anomalies or malfunctions were reported by pilots before a T-34C trainer aircraft crashed at an air base in Kaohsiung during a simulated engine-failure exercise earlier in the day. The Air Force has since grounded all T-34C trainers for comprehensive safety inspections, as stated by Air Force Chief Inspector Maj. Gen. Chiang Yi-cheng at a news conference.

According to Focus Taiwan, the aircraft, with tail number 3414, was piloted by 41-year-old Lt. Col. Lu Chi-yu and 45-year-old Lt. Col. Kuo Chun-nan. It departed from Runway 36L at Gangshan Air Base in Kaohsiung at 7:47 a.m. The flight aimed to conduct a routine evaluation of Lu, the chief instructor with 2,114 flying hours in T-34Cs, who was in the front cockpit, while Kuo, with 2,172 flying hours, acted as the examiner in the rear cockpit.

The crash occurred near the runway's northern end at 8:08 a.m. Investigations are ongoing, and an emergency rescue team discovered the bodies of the two pilots inside the aircraft after extinguishing the fire around 8:53 a.m.

Chiang mentioned that a special task force has been established to determine the crash's cause. All T-34C trainers have been grounded, with pilots resorting to simulators for training in the interim. The aircraft had passed safety checks on April 9, and no significant malfunctions had been reported since.

Neither pilot indicated any issues during the flight, and weather conditions, including visibility, were deemed suitable for flying. The Air Force acquired approximately 50 T-34Cs in 1985, with around 30 still in service. Plans to replace them with domestically built or imported trainers are underway, with decommissioning expected to begin in 2033.