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Lawmakers criticize allowing National Day skydive in poor weather conditions
NEW DEFINITION OF SUCCESS:Kao Hua-chu said six of the 12 paratroopers couldn’t have landed in front of the Presidential Office if the conditions were not good
By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday criticized the military for holding a skydiving show during the Double Ten National Day ceremony despite poor weather conditions, accusing it of recklessly putting the lives of soldiers at risk.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) told a press conference that poor weather conditions, including strong winds and air turbulence, in Taipei at that time was inappropriate for a skydiving show.
Because of the strong winds, the Maokong Gondola in Taipei suspended operations at 10:35am on and resumed operations at 1:30pm, Tsai said.
“The military neglected the lives of its paratroopers,” he said.
The legislator added that as the then-DPP government had planned to hold a skydiving show for the Double Ten National Day ceremony in 2007, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators opposed such a plan, saying the northeast monsoon in October was inappropriate for paratroopers landing in front of the Presidential Office, which has a large number of buildings nearby.
In response, Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) told the legislature the skydiving show was held in accordance with the military’s skydiving regulations.
“The military was fully aware of the weather conditions at the time. If those conditions were not fit for skydiving, then why did six paratroopers land precisely in front of the Presidential Office?” he asked.
Kao said the only problem was the unpredictable wind shear that occurred during the show. Twelve members of the army’s Dragon Group jumped from a CH-47SD helicopter at an altitude of 1,524m northeast of the Presidential Office during the ceremony.
Only five landed directly on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, while one member landed safely in a control area on Chongqing S Road.
Three other members landed on a bus station area next to Taipei Railway Station, and one member landed in a public park, while two members landed on an elementary-school campus.
The military said air turbulence had compromised precision landing, adding that a parachutist had sprained an ankle during landing.
source: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/10/12/2003515544
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