KAOHSIUNG: The bodies of two pilots who were aboard a twin-seater T-34C trainer aircraft that disappeared from radar screens during a routine training flight Tuesday were recovered yesterday from a mountainside in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung County.

The wreckage of the plane was found in a pristine mountain forest in the county's Namashia township, said Pan Kung-hsiao, director of the political warfare department at the Air Force Command Headquarters.

The body of Chen Tze-yu, a 25-year-old second lieutenant, was found 30 meters from the fuselage of the plane in a steep ravine, according to a non-commissioned officer who took part in an intensive search for the plane and its pilots.

The body of 48-year-old flight instructor Yao Chien-bao was found beneath the plane's fuselage, the officer said, adding that neither of them had ejected, as their parachutes were still on the plane.

The bodies were airlifted to the Air Force Academy, where Air Force Commanding General Lei Yu-chi presided over a ceremony in honor of the two deceased pilots.

The plane wreckage was brought back to the academy for investigation into the cause of the accident.

Pan said the military has formed an ad hoc task force to investigate the cause of the crash. "At the moment, we still cannot determine whether the crash was caused by mechanical failure, human error or environmental factors," he added.

The trainer took off from the academy on a training flight west of Kangshan in Kaohsiung County but lost contact with the military flight control tower and disappeared from the radar screen.

China Daily/CNS

(HK Edition 01/29/2010 page2)