The sergeant had been performing an inspection of a Taiwan-made Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter when the incident happened. - Reuters
TAIPEI: A 41-year-old Taiwanese military officer died after she was sucked into the engine of an aircraft in an airbase in Taiwan on Tuesday (Jan 21) morning.
The incident occurred at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Force Base in Taichung, reported local media.
The sergeant, whose surname is Hu, had been performing an inspection of a Taiwan-made Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF) while the engine was still on when the incident happened, reported broadcast agency PTS News. Her vocation was not mentioned in the reports.
She was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment and was pronounced dead at about 11.40am.
Her mother rushed to the hospital and collapsed in tears, according to The Epoch Times. Sgt Hu was the youngest of three siblings, and lived with her mother in the western Qingshui district of Taichung, reported United Daily News.
The airbase has suspended takeoffs for IDFs and is investigating the incident, according to PTS News.
In a media statement on its website, Taiwan’s Air Force Command expressed regret over the incident and said it is providing assistance to the family of the deceased.
It will also do a detailed review of its workflow to prevent similar cases from happening again.
Military experts said that standard procedures might not have been followed during the inspection, reported PTS News.
In a separate release, the Air Force Command urged people not to speculate, nor to spread unverified information. It was responding to a media report that an instructor had stepped on the throttle of the aircraft, leading to the incident.
Sgt Hu had served in the military for 18 years, reported PTS News. She was transferred to the field unit in 2024, and had an office role prior.
Dr Su Tzu-yun, director of the defence strategy and resources at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, said the aircraft’s engine takes in as much as one or two tonnes of air per minute, an equivalent of over 40kg per square foot.
“If a human weighs an average of 70kg, it is easy to be sucked in by the engine,” he said. - The Straits Times/ANN
