Iûnn Tshing-khe Plane Crash Memorial

Iûnn Tshing-khe, pronounced in Mandarin as Yang Ching-hsi, was a pioneering civilian pilot during Taiwan’s Japanese colonial era. He was the island’s first private airplane owner and the first person to successfully fly around Taiwan. Tragically, he also became the first civilian aviation fatality in the island’s history. Iûnn was only 26 years old when he died in a plane crash in 1934.

This modest riverside memorial stands along a trail on the south side of Taipei near Youth Park. Shaped like a small airplane and painted white, red, and blue, it is easy to overlook. Runners and cyclists pass it daily, often unaware of the story it commemorates. The monument was placed here because the fatal crash occurred nearby.

In 1930s Taiwan, aviation was still in its infancy, and civilian pilots were rare and celebrated figures. Iûnn trained near Tokyo, purchased a retired military aircraft from the Japanese air force, and shipped it back to Taiwan. His flights quickly became public spectacles, but the tragedy struck only weeks after his record-setting journey around the island.

Iûnn Tshing-khe’s tomb in Kaohsiung was also constructed in the shape of an airplane, a final tribute to a life defined by flight. May his dream of the skies live on through these quiet markers.