Report and photo by Robin Polderman
A Taiwanese Air Force AT-5 Brave Eagle trainer aircraft crashed off the coast of Taitung on Saturday morning 15 February 2025.
The aircraft, tail number 1130, had taken off from Chihhang airbase around 08:40 AM local time, but experienced a dual engine failure while flying over the waters surrounding Taiwan soon thereafter. The sole pilot onboard ejected safely and was picked up by a local fishing boat.
The domestically designed and produced AT-5 replaced the F-5E/F aircraft that were in use for Lead-In Fighter Training at Chihhang airbase. Of the 66 AT-5s on order, around 40 have been delivered, with the type also slated to replace the AT-3 jet trainers at the Kangshan military flying academy.
Serial production of the AT-5 by Taiwanese manufacturer AIDC started in 2021.
The aircraft in question had been delivered in 2024 and had logged 183 flight hours at the time of the crash.