Taiwan air force chief flies F-5 test flight for safety

The head of Taiwan’s Air Force has joined the first test flight of a fighter jet following a fatal crash.

All of Taiwan’s ageing F-5 jets were grounded and inspections carried out after a pilot was killed last month.

“I believe F-5s are safe to fly,” Air Force Commander Hsiung Hou-chi said, the Military News Agency reported.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled out taking it back by force, leading to tension in the island’s air space.

In early October, Taiwan’s defence minister said the air force had been dispatched almost 3,000 times since January to monitor or intercept Chinese aircraft.