A single-engine propeller plane crashed at 8:08 local time (3:08 Lithuanian time) at the northern end of the Gangshan Air Base runway, located in the southern port city of Kaohsiung on the island, the military air forces reported.
A special group was created to investigate the causes of the accident, which occurred about 20 minutes after takeoff.
The pilots, both holding the rank of lieutenant colonel and aged 41 and 45, had not reported any issues related to the aircraft just before the crash, said the military air forces’ general inspector Major General Chiang Yi-cheng.
“There were no unusual radio communications throughout the flight until the crash,” Chiang Yi-cheng said at a press conference.
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President Lai Ching-te expressed regret over the deaths, called the pilots heroes, and thanked them for their “sacrifice and dedication” to Taiwan.
The island’s military air forces use single-engine propeller Beechcraft planes as their primary training aircraft for pilots, according to the Ministry of Defense’s website.
These planes were first delivered to Taiwan in 1984.
In January, during a routine training mission over the sea off Taiwan’s eastern coast, an F-16 fighter jet crashed. It is believed the pilot ejected from the aircraft, but he was not found.
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