PUBLISHED ONJanuary 07, 2026 5:11 AMBYSean LerTaiwan's Air Force said that a search and rescue operation is still underway for the pilot of a missing F-16V fight jet that disappeared about 67km south of Hualien Air Base on Tuesday (Jan 6).
The update was given by Air Force Inspector-General Chiang Yi-cheng, who holds the rank of Major-General, during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
According to Chiang, the fighter jet, piloted by 29-year-old Captain Hsin Po-yi, took off from Hualien Air Base in eastern Taiwan at 6.17pm for a night training sortie, before disappearing from radar at 7.29pm.
Citing audio recordings retrieved from the lead aircraft of the formation which Hsin was flying in, Chiang said that they could not confirm if Hsin had ejected successfully.
"At 7.28pm, Captain Hsin declared that he was losing altitude. Four seconds later, Hsin declared that he would eject. Another eight seconds later, Hsin's aircraft disappeared from the radar," Chiang said.
"So far, we have not received any signal from his survival equipment beacon," Chiang added. "Therefore, (we) do not yet have any conclusive evidence to confirm whether Captain Hsin successfully completed the ejection procedure."
The aircraft's last recorded location was about 67km south of the air base.
Meanwhile, joint air and sea rescue efforts involving the Ministry of National Defence, the Coast Guard and airborne rescue teams are underway, said Taiwan's Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling in a Facebook post on Tuesday night.
Kuan also reported that search efforts are taking place in difficult conditions, with strong winds and waves of up to 3m high in the area.
Speaking at the press conference, the missing pilot's squadron commander, Colonel Zhou described Hsin as an outstanding aviator who performed consistently and got along well with his colleagues.
"He (Hsin) had just returned from his honeymoon after registering his marriage in May 2025," said Zhou. "It was only till the year-end, when the workload became better that he could go for his honeymoon."
Zhou also shared that Hsin's wife, who also serves in the military, told him that Hsin said that it was his "lifelong dream" to be able to visit Finland and Iceland for his honeymoon.
According to Taiwan's Air Force, Hsin has clocked a total flight time of 611 hours, including 371 hours flying the F-16V.
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