2020 New Taipei Helicopter crash

On the 2nd of January 2020, a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter belonging to the Republic of China Air Force, (not the People’s Republic of China) crashed in the Wulai district of New Taipei in Taiwan, killing 8 of the 13 occupants, including General Shen-Yi Ming, Taiwan’s Chief of the General Staff. The 5 occupants on board the helicopter who survived the crash were all injured. The helicopter took off from Songshan Airport in Taipei (the capital of the Republic of China) heading for Dong’aoling Radar Station in Yilan county on a routine mission to visit service personnel, when it suddenly lost contact with the control tower at Songshan Airport at 8:07 AM, only 13 minutes after take-off and crashed into a mountainside. The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk has a bad crash record, with 11 fatal accidents. It is powered by 2 General Electric T700 turboshaft engines, which is also used for the Boeing AH-64 Apache, the Bell UH-1Y Venom and several other American made helicopters. The UH-60 Black Hawk is used by many different armies and air forces across the world, including the Brazilian Army, who possesses 20 of the type and the Slovakian government, who has 9. Yesterday, the flag of the Republic of China was lowered to a half-staff at Dong’aoling Radar Station, in memory of those who died in the crash. 5th of January 2020

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