Meanwhile in Taiwan...

RoCAF F-16A block 20 #6706 Taiwanairpower.org

(This is a photo of the actual jet that is missing.)

F-16 jet reported missing

The Taiwanese Air Force said one of its Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets went missing 35 miles off the Eastern coast during a routine training mission Tuesday, March 4th. The single-seater aircraft disappeared from radar screens 28 minutes after it took off from the Hualien air base at 6:50pm for a night training exercise. At press time, two S-70C helicopters, a C-130 transport aircraft and two warships were still scouting the area where the jet was feared to have crashed. Hualien base spokesman Yang Feng-sheng (楊鳳生) said the jet's pilot, Major Ting Shih-pao (丁世寶), had not reported any technical problems or asked for help. Ting, 34, could have ejected before the jet crashed, Yang said. On Thursday, the air force ruled out mechanical trouble as the cause of the F-16's disappearance, suspecting pilot disorientation or lack of oxygen as the main reason for the crash. Spatial disorientation occurs when a pilot has false perception of the aircraft's attitude and motion. All pilots are susceptible to such sensory illusions regardless of experience or proficiency, especially at night in a demanding combat environment. Over the years Taiwan has lost five F-16's and several pilots.

A Fighter Pilot's wife's worst nightmare:
Minister of National Defense Michael Tsai, talks with the wife of F-16 fighter pilot Ting Shih-pao in Hualien

Growing missile threats from rival China, have promoted Taiwan to purchase a large fleet of US-made F-16s in 1992. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949. China has threatened to retake the island by force if the territory should ever declare independence. Chinese President Hu Jintao reiterated warnings against Taiwan's independence activities on Tuesday, saying the island's independence moves are 'doomed to fail'.

And meanwhile ... as Bill was flying to Taiwan to train these pilots (five days before this mishap), we got word that he no longer has a job. A new company - Jacobs - has assumed the project and assumed that the team members' salaries were 'out of line'. So Bill gets in line at the unemployment office unless something pans out. We are furiously networking!

Oh and the same day they lost a jet, they had an earthquake. Bill is THRILLED to be in Taiwan. Add to that a grounded fleet, no job when he returns and no steak place in Hualien. But there is the GORGE! click here

Just Another Day at the Office

A photo from an F-16D Fighting Falcon aircraft during a recent training flight over Kunsan Air Base in South Korea.

Bill will be the guy on the ground for two different trips this month helping the pilots become familiar with a communication system called DataLink. Bill left our house at 4 am on Friday of this week. I got a call from him today (Saturday) at 3:30 pm - he was just getting up and was still on his way to Kunsan! He had one last jaunt, a 3 hour bus ride from Inch'on to Kunsan AB. Weren't the Gilliagan's Island folks guaranteed a 3-hour tour? hmmmmm.... Kunsan is located on the coast of the Yellow Sea - just across the pond from China. (click on the map for a bigger picture)

Although he has retired from flying the F-15 with his hair on fire, being a military contractor is a pretty good gig.

The best part of Bill's job is that he is still around fighter pilots...

the worst part of his job is that he is...

still around fighter pilots.