An F-16 pilot ejected successfully from his fighter aircraft as it crashed into the sea on Monday during a training flight in South Korea, its U.S. Air Force unit said.
The fast jet stationed at Kunsan Air Base in the west of the country reported an “in-flight emergency” over the Yellow Sea at 8:43 a.m., according to a statement released by the 8th Fighter Wing.
The pilot ejected from the F-16 and was recovered with the help of South Korea’s navy, the unit said. The airman, who the Air Force has declined to name, was returned to base, “awake and in stable condition.”
The military mishap comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, where Kim Jong Un’s regime to the North has resumed missile tests and satellite launches in recent months, and the U.S. and its ally in the South have stepped up the intensity and visibility of their joint training.
Last month in Japan—another American ally threatened by North Korea—eight U.S. airmen were killed when their V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft crashed into the sea during a training operation, the second such accident involving the airframe this year.
The cause of Monday’s crash, first reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, was still unknown and “will be thoroughly investigated,” the 8th Fighter Wing said in its public statement.
“Further details regarding the incident will not be made available until the conclusion of the investigation,” it said.
“We are grateful for the safe recovery of our Airman by our [Republic of Korea] Allies and that the pilot is in good condition,” Col. Matthew Gaetke, the unit’s commander, was quoted as saying.
Tech. Sgt. Emili Koonce/U.S. Air Force
U.S. Forces Korea, which oversees the 28,500 forward-deployed American military personnel in South Korea, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kunsan Air Base, in Gunsun, about 110 miles south Seoul, is one of two main U.S. air bases in South Korea, along with Osan Air Base, which houses the headquarters of the Seventh Air Force of the Hawaii-based Pacific Air Forces.
In May, an F-16 of the 8th Fighter Wing crashed into a field near Osan Air Base during a “routine daytime training sortie,” the Air Force said at the time.
“The pilot safely ejected and was transported to the nearest medical facility,” the statement said.
More than 2,800 active-duty and civilian military members are stationed at Kunsan, the air base says on its website. The airmen there fly the F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” an airframe that is also used by other air forces in Asia.
In January 2022, Taiwan’s air force lost one of its advanced F-16 fighter jets after a training mishap off the island’s southwest coast. The pilot was killed in the crash.
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