One KF-16 Fighter Jet Crashes... No Casualties Reported (Comprehensive)

A fighter jet belonging to the Republic of Korea Air Force's 20th Fighter Wing (hereinafter 20th FW) crashed while taking off at Seosan Air Base in Chungnam on the 21st. One pilot ejected safely, and since the crash site was within the base, there were no reported civilian casualties.

KF-16 fighter jet, regarded as a main model along with the Air Force F-15K

The Air Force stated, "Around 8:20 a.m. that day, a KF-16 fighter jet belonging to the 20th FW crashed within the base while taking off for a mission."

The Air Force has formed a Flight Accident Countermeasures Headquarters led by Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Lee Sang-hak to investigate the exact cause of the accident. The KF-16 is an F-16 series fighter jet introduced through the KFP project, which assembles domestically produced parts to localize the F-16. In November last year, a KF-16 fighter jet belonging to the 19th Fighter Wing also crashed due to engine fuel pump damage caused by maintenance failure.

Previously, the KF-16 experienced its first crash in August 1997, followed by another crash in September of the same year. Both accidents were attributed to corrosion of the fuel lines. In February 2002, one aircraft crashed due to engine turbine blade damage, and five years later, in February 2007, after a maintenance failure, another aircraft crashed into the West Sea in July of the same year due to pilot error during flight, resulting in two fatalities. In March 2009, a crash was caused by pilot error, and in February 2019, another crash occurred due to a parts failure, each involving one aircraft.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.