A United States Air Force F-16 fighter crashed off the coast of South Korea this Wednesday (31). This is the third downing of a US warplane based in Korea in less than a year.
The incident happened during a training mission over waters west of the Korean Peninsula at around 8:41 a.m. local time, according to a statement from Kunsan Air Base, which is about 180 kilometers south of the capital Seoul.
The pilot, assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing, managed to eject safely and was recovered about 50 minutes after the accident, the Air Force statement said. He was conscious and was taken to a medical center for evaluation.
“We are very grateful to the ROK rescue forces and all of our teammates who made our pilot's quick recovery possible,” Col. Matthew Gaetke, 8th Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement.
“Now, we will shift our focus to the search and recovery of the aircraft”, he added. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Third fall in a year
This Wednesday's accident (31) was the third with an F-16 based in South Korea in less than a year, although there are no indications that the cases are related.
In December, an F-16 from Kunsan crashed off the west coast of the peninsula during training.
The pilot managed to eject and was rescued by South Korean maritime forces, the US 8th Fighter Wing said at the time, adding that no further information about the accident would be released until an investigation was completed.
In May 2023, an F-16 crashed in an agricultural area near Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, during training. The pilot of that aircraft also ejected safely, and the case was referred for investigation.
The F-16 is the main fighter of the US Air Force, which has 738 single-engine jets of the type in the fleet, according to Flight Global's “World Air Forces 2024”. The Air Force says F-16s make up about half of its fighter inventory.
The United States loses between three and four of the aircraft every year to accidents around the world, according to statistics from the Air Force Safety Center last provided after the 2021 fiscal year.
Source: CNN Brasil
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