Taiwanese pilots killed in trainer jet crash; mother laments son's choice to stay as instructor

Two Taiwanese Air Force officers, Lieutenant Colonel Guo Jun-nan and Lieutenant Colonel Lu Ji-you, were tragically killed when their T-34C trainer aircraft crashed near the runway of the Gangshan Air Base. The incident occurred on Tuesday during a training mission that involved simulating an engine failure.

Military officials arranged for the families of the two pilots to conduct a soul-summoning ceremony at the crash site on Wednesday morning. The scene was deeply sorrowful, with family members calling out the names of their loved ones. Lu Ji-you's mother shared her profound grief, revealing that she had encouraged her son to remain as an instructor at Gangshan Air Base rather than fly the more dangerous F-16 fighter jets. She had believed that staying as an instructor would be safer, making the outcome of his death in the older T-34C trainer particularly unbearable.

“

I thought flying F-16s was more dangerous, so I told him to stay as an instructor at Gangshan. I never expected that flying this 40-year-old T-34C would be more dangerous, and it ended with him dying for the country.

Lu's parents recounted that their son had previously forgone promotion opportunities to stay and care for them. His mother expressed her mistaken belief that flying F-16s posed the greater risk, only to find that the T-34C, an aircraft with over 40 years of service, proved fatal. Despite their immense pain, Lu's father stated that they are proud of their son's service to the country.

The T-34C trainer aircraft, with tail number 3414, was engaged in a routine training mission simulating engine failure when it crashed. Both pilots, identified as 41-year-old Lu Ji-you in the front seat and 46-year-old Guo Jun-nan in the rear seat, were declared deceased at the scene. The loss of these two experienced officers has cast a somber mood over the air force base.

“

We are proud of our son.