A tragic accident rocked Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung, Taiwan, on January 21, when a Taiwanese Air Force officer died after being sucked into the engine of an F-CK-1 Ching-kuo fighter jet developed by the local Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC).

The officer, a 41-year-old staff sergeant identified by the surname Hu, was performing a routine inspection of the aircraft after it landed. For reasons yet to be determined, she was sucked into the jet's right engine. Despite the timely intervention of her colleagues and immediate transport to the hospital, Hu was pronounced dead at around 11:40 am local time. In response to the incident, the Taiwan Air Force suspended operations of F-CK-1 fighter jets at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base and launched a joint investigation with judicial authorities to clarify the circumstances of the incident. Security camera footage from the hangar will be reviewed to provide further details of the incident.

The AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo, also known as the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), is a Taiwanese-American twin-engine, two-seat, multi-role air superiority fighter aircraft developed in the 1980s and introduced into service in 1992. The aircraft is powered by two Honeywell/ITEC F125-GA-100 turbofan engines, each capable of producing 27 kN dry thrust and 42.1 kN afterburner thrust. The F-CK-1 has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (approximately 2,220 km/h) and a range of 1,100 km with three 1,040-liter external tanks.

The Taiwan Air Force expressed deep condolences for the loss of Staff Sergeant Hu, who had served for nearly 17 years, and assured the victim's family of its full support. It also stated its intention to review and improve operational procedures to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.