A T-34 military training aircraft crashed on June 2, 2026, at Gangshan Air Base in southern Taiwan during a simulated engine failure exercise, killing both pilots on board [1, 2, 3].
The crash occurred near the northern end of the runway at the air base [1, 2, 3]. The pilots, Lieutenant Colonels Kuo Chun-nan and Lu Chi-yu, were both highly experienced instructors. Kuo was 46 years old with over 2,172 flight hours on the T-34; Lu was 41 years old with more than 2,114 hours logged. Both were married [2].
Taiwan's Defence Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said, “We must fully assist the families and thoroughly clarify the cause of the crash to prevent similar incidents from happening again” [2]. The Air Force has formed a task force to investigate the cause of the incident [1, 2, 3].
The crash has intensified debate about the safety and ageing of Taiwan’s T-34 aircraft fleet, which has been under scrutiny in recent years [2].
Taiwanese leader William Lai expressed his condolences in a Facebook post, calling the event “a sudden tragedy” [3].
Investigators are expected to release further findings once the task force completes its review. For now, the Air Force continues to assess the status of its training fleet to avoid further accidents [1, 3].
