March 30, 2016 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
A RoKAF F-16D block 52 crashed on Wednesday. The jet fighter plunged into an uninhabited hilly area in Cheongsong, 322 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 16:06h without causing any damage to civilians. Both pilots safely ejected.
The ejected pilots were unhurt, the Republic of Korea Air Force said in a brief press release.
The jet from the 19th Fighter Wing based at Chungju/Jungwon air base, North Chungcheong Province, was conducting a mission when the accident took place, it said.
The Air Force is investigating the exact cause of the accident after setting up an emergency accident handling committee.
The previous
crash of a South Korean F-16 dates from March 31st, 2009 when
Lieutenant Colonel Sohn and Captain Kwak crashed in the Yellow Sea off Taean County, about 150km south-west of Seoul.
This news comes a day after an
USAF F-16 crashed in Afghanistan.