The Republic of China Air Force grounded its fleet of Mirage 2000 fighter jets on Monday after one crashed into the sea.
It’s the second crash in three months, this time the pilot was rescued.
The French-built aircraft took off just after 10 a.m. local time on a training mission from the Chihhang Air Base in the southeastern city of Taitung.
The pilot, Lt. Col. Huang Chung-kai, reported a technical problem with the jet and was returning to land when he was forced to eject at 11:26 a.m. local time. A UH-60M helicopter pick up him 40 minutes later.
Taiwan received its first of 60 Mirage jets in 1997, though they have been upgraded several times since then. Six have since been lost in accidents.
