TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Search teams found no trace Wednesday (Jan. 7) of an F-16V pilot whose jet crashed off Taiwan's east coast a day earlier, with rescuers alarmed that his emergency beacon remains silent more than 12 hours after the incident.
Military and civilian crews scoured waters east of Hualien County throughout the night but located neither Captain Hsin (辛), 29, nor debris from his aircraft. The pilot was flying the single-seat jet, tail number 6700, when it vanished from radar at 7:29 p.m. Tuesday, approximately 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) east of Fengbin Township (豐濱鄉).
Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said Wednesday morning on Facebook that Coast Guard crews searched all night without finding the pilot. Kuan expressed hope that daylight would improve visibility and aid rescue efforts, noting that civilian cargo ships, fishing vessels and commercial aircraft have also joined the search operation off Taiwan's eastern coastline.
His aircraft had departed Hualien Air Base (花蓮空軍基地) at 6:17 p.m. Tuesday for a routine night training mission, the Air Force said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Poor weather has hampered rescue operations throughout the search effort. Rescuers reported low visibility, wind gusts reaching Beaufort scale 8 (62-74 km/h), and waves of 2-3 meters (6.6-9.8 feet) on Tuesday night in the waters east of Hualien. Air temperatures fell to 13 degrees Celsius (55.4°F) as a continental cold air mass moved through the region, while sea temperatures hovered around 23.5-24 degrees Celsius (74.3-75.2°F).
Hualien diving instructor Chang Kuan-cheng (張冠正) told the Liberty Times (自由時報) that a person without a wetsuit would start shivering after about two hours in such water temperatures. Chang cited a case in which a diver who survived eight hours in similar conditions was rescued in a semi-conscious state, underscoring the urgency of the ongoing search operation.
Authorities have deployed multiple rescue assets to the search zone east of Fengbin Township. These include S-70C-6 helicopters from Songshan Airport, C-130H transport aircraft from Pingtung Air Base that dropped illumination flares, and UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from Hualien. EC225 helicopters from Chiayi Base and Coast Guard vessels have also joined the overnight operation.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has directed the Ministry of National Defense and related agencies to prioritize the pilot's safe recovery as the top objective of the ongoing operation. Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) traveled to Air Force Command Tuesday night to oversee operations personally and coordinate the multi-agency search effort across Taiwan's eastern waters.
Hsin, a graduate of Air Force Academy Class of 108 (2019), had accumulated 611 total flight hours, including 371 hours on F-16 aircraft, and was serving as wingman during the mission. He had returned to duty less than 48 hours before the crash after honeymooning in Finland with his wife, a staff sergeant also stationed at Hualien Air Base.
The aircraft, originally assigned to Chiayi Air Base (嘉義空軍基地), had completed Taiwan's F-16V upgrade program before its transfer to Hualien Base as part of fleet modernization efforts. The jet had logged 3,894 airframe hours and 5,447 engine hours prior to Tuesday's incident, according to Air Force records released Tuesday. ◼