US F-16 fighter jet crashes in South Korea, pilot rescued

This is the third crash of a U.S. F-16 fighter jet in South Korea since May 2023 (representative)

Seoul:

An American F-16 fighter jet suffered an “in-flight emergency” over the West Sea near South Korea and crashed early Wednesday morning, the U.S. military said, adding that the pilot had been rescued.

“An F-16 fighter jet belonging to the 8th Fighter Wing suffered an in-flight emergency over the West Sea and crashed at approximately 8:41 a.m. (2341 GMT) today,” the military said in a statement.

“The pilot ejected safely and was rescued around 9:30 a.m. He was conscious and transported to a medical facility for evaluation.”

The statement expressed appreciation for the close cooperation with South Korea in the rescue operation.

“We are extremely grateful to the Korean rescue force and all of our teammates who enabled our airman’s speedy recovery,” said Col. Matthew C. Gatke, 8th Fighter Wing commander.

“We will now turn our focus to searching and salvaging the aircraft,” he added.

“No information will be provided on the cause of the onboard emergency until a thorough safety and accident investigation has been concluded,” the statement said.

The fighter jet crashed near Modok Island off South Korea’s west coast, the South Korean Coast Guard told AFP.

This is the third crash of a U.S. F-16 fighter jet in South Korea since May 2023.

In December last year, a U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed after encountering what the U.S. military called an “in-flight emergency” during a routine training exercise. The pilot was also rescued.

Last May, a U.S. F-16 jet crashed during routine training in a farming area south of Seoul. The pilot ejected safely and there were no other casualties in the accident.

Washington is Seoul’s most important security ally, stationing some 28,500 troops in South Korea to help protect it from a nuclear-armed North.

In neighboring Japan, the U.S. military announced the grounding of its fleet of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft late last year after a fatal accident involving the aircraft killed eight U.S. pilots.

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