August 21, 1990, Tuesday, PM cycle
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 214 words
HEADLINE: 18 People, Including Three Generals, Killed in Military Plane Crash
DATELINE: TAIPEI, Taiwan
BODY:
A Taiwanese air force plane carrying three top military officers crashed and
exploded on a sugar cane field in heavy rain today, killing all 18 people on
board, the Defense Ministry said.
A ministry statement said the Beech-1900 turboprop transport craft was carrying
three major generals and their aides on an "inspection mission" when
it crashed in Yunlin, a village 150 miles south of Taipei. Three crew members
also died in the crash.
The generals were identified as air force deputy chief of staff Lin Lung-hsien,
air force operations director Ning Chien-chuang and Combined Services Forces'
Ordinance Director Tsao Yao-yi.
Biographical information on the three was not immediately available because
is considered a military secret in Taiwan.
The mass-circulation China Times Express said the officers were on their way
to inspect a military airport being built in central Taiwan in Chiayi, near
Yunlin.
The newspaper said the aircraft hit the ground and exploded. The force of the
blast split the aircraft in two, burying the cockpit in the muddy field and
scattering the rest of the plane in pieces, the paper said.
The Defense Ministry said it was investigating the cause of the crash. Officials
said the aircraft was bought from the U.S. Beech Aircraft Corp. in 1988.
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