While the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is increasing incursions into Taiwan’s airspace, Taiwan’s military has seen five plane crashes in less than 15 months, claiming 12 deaths, as well as two listed as missing. Shen Yi-ming, Taiwan’s chief of general staff, was killed in one of the incidents. A string of fatal crashes has fueled the general public’s concerns and questions. They wonder whether the armed forces which have already suffered a huge loss at a time before real war starts are capable of fighting a full-scale war.

In response to the public’s attention, the Ministry of National Defense sent a report to the Legislative Yuan, explaining the causes, the on-going investigations, and the reviews on the five major disasters in the past two years. The report can reveal whether the military is honestly facing its weaknesses and challenges, whether it is capable of identifying and working out the problems. The report is of course very important.

The report sets out the five major aviation incidents in the past two years (in fact less than 15 months):

. On January 2, 2020, a UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter crashed in a mountainous region in the north of the island due to a combination of human errors and environmental factors, killing 8 personnel.

. On July 16, 2020, an OH-58D crashed at Hsinchu Airbase due to mechanical failures, killing two personnel.

. On October 29, 2020, an F-5E fighter jet crashed off the coast of Taitung due to mechanical problems, killing one personnel.

. On November 17, 2020, an F-16A fighter jet crashed off the coast of Hualien. A personnel is listed as missing, and the cause of the accident remains to be investigated.

.On Mach 22, 2021, 2 F-5E fighter jets collided in the air and crashed off the coast of Taitung, resulting in one missing and one killed. The cause is yet to be investigated.

The detailed list of the disasters is intended to show a string of fatal crashes involve multiple types of planes, services (OH-58D belongs to the Army), and even different levels of ranks and seniority. Shen Yi-ming, chief of general staff, was among the fatalities of a Blackhawk helicopter crash caused by “human errors and environmental factors”. Therefore shifting the blame to aged aircraft is not entirely true. There are multiple and complex factors contributing to a slew of tragedies.

The review report by the Ministry of National Defense said the crashes mentioned above indicate the military aviation units have failed to learn from the past, adding that the military must study the causes of the disasters thoroughly to prevent them in the future. During flight missions, the responsibilities of the crew members are grouped according to their duties, not depending on their ranks, said the report. In the air, if anyone detects a possible danger, the flight should stop immediately. The military must establish a culture of flight safety, in which crew members see each other as his family, helping and supporting mutually. However, the report has led some to assume frontline aviation units and those performing in-flight duties should take the blame. By contrast, the Ministry of National Defense is only responsible for the work of review.

The subtle and clever language of the report, possibly written by a master, fails to explore the deeper causes of the crashes, and thus it is unlikely to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future. A superficial review like this is not right as it places more focus on lower ranks. In fact, it overlooks the real problems in the MOD and the government, including defense policies, budget allocation, personnel development, troop management and supervision, military culture and others. It also highlights those on top keep “relying on ranks” to avoid responsibilities, and thus ignore the “potential dangers to security” and fail to create a culture in which crew learns to “remind and support each other”. This is the root cause of a host of problems in military aviation safety.

Five military plane crashes in less than 15 months, claiming 12 lives and two listed as missing. These worst disasters are considered serious national defense crises. We expect MOD’s report can help relieve the national defense crisis and the public’s concerns. One cannot work out a solution if refusing to confront problems. Instead, concerns are raised over more potential tragedies and bigger crises over the future.

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