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F-16 Fighting Falcon News

F-16 forced to dump fuel tanks while flying over South Korea

May 21, 2014 (by Stars and Stripes) - A U.S. fighter jet dropped two fuel tanks over Gimje City on Wednesday during an in-flight emergency, according to the 8th Fighter Wing.

The Kunsan Air Base F-16C Fighting Falcon was conducting a training mission when the incident took place around 11:35hrs local time. The fuel tanks were dropped about 7 miles southeast of the base and landed in a rice paddy about 200 meters from an elementary school.

Emergency crews responded to the scene, and no injuries were reported.

Wing commander Col. Kenneth Ekman went to the site and apologized for the incident.

The pilot followed proper procedures during the incident, although having the fuel tanks land in a rice paddy was a coincidence, wing spokeswoman 1st Lt. Son Lee said.

“We got really lucky, and we’re really happy that no one was hurt and the pilot is OK,” she said.

The incident is under investigation.


Published on May 21st, 2014 in the Stars and Stripes.
Used with permission from Stars and Stripes, a DoD publication.
© 2014 Stars and Stripes.