Overview
- Defence Minister Wellington Koo said about 30 aircraft, 22 vessels and two drones are searching off Hualien, with strong winds and waves up to roughly three meters complicating efforts.
- The missing pilot, Capt. Hsin Po‑yi, radioed that he would eject after separating in cloud at 7:27 pm, an onboard "EJECT" alarm was recorded, and no ejection‑seat beacon has been detected.
- The single‑seat F‑16V, tail number 6700, departed Hualien at 6:17 pm and lost radar contact at 7:29 pm about 10 nautical miles east of Fengbin Township.
- Training on F‑16s is suspended for fleetwide inspections that officials aim to complete by Saturday, and alert and standby duties remain in place.
- Investigators are probing a possible avionics or main computer malfunction, including reports that the aircraft’s flight path disappeared from the pilot’s display.