A Taiwanese Air Force officer died after being sucked into the engine of a fighter jet, officials said.
An incident at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base occurred on Tuesday when a master sergeant was conducting an inspection of the aircraft before shutdown.
The Taiwanese Air Force stated that the sergeant was pulled into the engine for reasons that are currently unknown. Despite attempts to save her life, she was later declared deceased.
In response to speculations in the media that the sergeant’s intake by the jet engine was caused by the throttle application of an instructor, the Air Force Command mentioned that an investigation is ongoing with the collaboration of a task force and prosecutors to determine the actual cause.
A Taiwanese air force pilot climbs into the cockpit of his Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Jan. 7, 2025. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)
The plane involved in the incident was an Indigenous Defense Fighter, the Taipei Times reported, adding that the victim served in the military for around 17 years.
A source familiar with the aircraft told the Taipei Times that the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into its engine – which has a fairly small intake opening — is “miniscule.”
The source said after the plane lands, its motor speed is on a slow rotation and should have been stopped by the time the wheel chocks were being deployed at the base.
A Taiwanese Air Force Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft takes off during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Jan. 7. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)
Security cameras installed in the hangar of the base should provide the full picture as to what happened, the source added.
