F-16 fighter jet of the US Air Force crashes in South Korea
11 December, 2023 F-16CJ fighter of the US Air Force. Photo credits: US Air Force An F-16 fighter jet of the U.S.
Air Force crashes over the Yellow Sea during a training exercise in South Korea. The Korean edition of Yonhap reported on this. During a routine training flight, the US F-16 fighter jet disappeared from radar screens at around 8:43 am.
The exact causes of the crash are currently unknown, but according to the South Korean Air Force officials, the accident could have been caused by problems with the Pratt & Whitney engine. The jet assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing took off from Kunsan Air Base in Gunsan, for the training.
During the flight, the pilot reported an emergency to the control room, after which the connection was cut off. He was found in a life raft and rescued by a search and rescue unit. His life is currently not in danger.
According to representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces in South Korea, units of the U.S. Navy and Air Force were involved in the search for the pilot.
An F-16 C fighter jet takes off from Kunsan Air Base.Photo credits: US Air Force
The accident occurred 182 kilometers from the country's capital. In 2023, this is not the first crash of American aircraft in Korea, as in May, an F-16 of the U.S.
51st Fighter Wing crashed into farmland near Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul. The pilot safely ejected and was taken to the hospital, and there were no victims or injured among the local population.
As Militarnyi previously reported, the United States has suspended the flights of all its V-22 Osprey aircraft until the causes of the crash of one of them off the coast of Japan will be clarified.
According to the order, all Osprey modifications operated by the US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy are to be decommissioned.
Their operation is suspended to reduce the risk to other pilots while the investigation into the CV-22 crash that occurred off the coast of Japan on November 29 continues.