TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The impact of a likely bird collision was observed on a fighter jet that flew in a training exercise before a Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed the following day, the Air Force said on Wednesday (Sept. 11).

The fighter jet lost thrust before its pilot ejected and it crashed into the sea on Tuesday night (Sept. 10), Air Force Inspector General Yu Te-chung (虞德忠) confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, per CNA. Yu said an investigation into why the engine malfunctioned is probing possible mechanical, environmental, and personnel related causes.

There were rumors that the crashed aircraft was in a group of fighter jets that returned with bird blood on one after a training exercise the previous night. Yu confirmed that one such plane was within the group but added the crashed jet had been inspected and was cleared for flight.

Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun (謝沛勳) was rescued after ditching the fighter jet and is conscious and in a stable condition at hospital. Yu said Hseih had one minute to decide whether or not to eject from the aircraft before he did so.

Hsieh was visited by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in hospital on Wednesday morning, who thanked him on behalf of the nation for his service. In a report published by LTN later that day, the captain said he would not give up flying because of the incident and hoped to return to work as soon as possible.

Hsieh graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2016 and has clocked 710 flying hours since.