Kaohsiung: Following the crash of a T-34 trainer aircraft at Gangshan Air Base resulting in the deaths of two pilots, the Republic of China (ROC) military has now lost 20 personnel in aviation incidents since 2020.
According to Focus Taiwan, the series of tragic events began on January 2, 2020, when a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Wulai District, New Taipei. The accident claimed the lives of eight out of the 13 individuals on board, including ROC military Chief of General Staff Shen Yi-ming.
Further losses occurred on July 16, 2020, when an OH-58D helicopter crashed during the Han Kuang military exercises at an air base in Hsinchu. The crash resulted in the deaths of Army Major Chien Jen-chuan and Captain Kao Chia-lung.
On October 29, 2020, F-5E fighter pilot Chu Kuan-meng died after ejecting from his aircraft during a training mission off the coast of Taitung County. This was followed by another fatal incident on November 17, 2020, when an F-16 fighter jet crashed off Hualien County, killing its pilot, Colonel Chiang Cheng-chih.
The trend continued in 2021 when two pilots, First Lieutenant Lo Shang-hua and Captain Pan Ying-chun, died on March 22 after their F-5E fighter jets collided mid-air off eastern Pingtung County. Following ejection-seat failures, the military decided to upgrade the ejection seats in its F-5 fleet.
In 2022, Captain Chen Yi died on January 11 after taking off from Chiayi Air Base on a training mission. On May 23, an Air Force AT-3 trainer jet crash in Kaohsiung took the life of pilot Hsu Ta-chun. A month later, on June 22, crew chief Liu Shang-chun died after a Taiwan Navy S-70C helicopter crash-landed at Zuoying Naval Base, suffering severe burns.
In recent years, on January 6, 2026, an F-16AM fighter jet piloted by Captain Hsin Po-yi went missing after taking off from Hualien Air Base on a nighttime mission. The latest incident on June 2, 2026, involved a T-34 trainer aircraft crash at Gangshan Air Base, killing Lt. Col. Lu Chi-yu and Lt. Col. Kuo Chun-nan during a training mission. The cause of this incident is still under investigation.