The pilot of the US army airplane, the most recent to crash within the Asia Pacific area, has been rescued.
A US army fighter jet has ditched into the Yellow Sea off South Korea.
The F-16 Combating Falcon assigned to the eighth Fighter Wing was on a routine coaching flight on Monday when it skilled an “in-flight emergency” that despatched it into the Yellow Sea, the US Air Drive stated in a press release.
The pilot has been rescued after ejecting, it stated.
“The pilot ejected the aircraft. The pilot has been recovered by Republic of Korea Maritime Forces, awake and in stable condition,” the assertion stated, including he can be evaluated additional again on the the Kunsan Air Base.
“We are grateful for the safe recovery of our airman by our ROK Allies and that the pilot is in good condition,” stated Colonel Matthew C Gaetke, the eighth Fighter Wing’s commander.
The reason for the malfunction is at present unknown. “The incident will be thoroughly investigated,” the air drive assertion stated.
The airbase is positioned in South Korea’s west coast metropolis of Gunsan. It’s one in every of two important airbases utilized by the US army within the nation, which hosts 28,500 US service members.
The crash was the second incident this yr in and round South Korea involving an F-16 jet. In Could, one plane crashed throughout a routine coaching train in a farming space south of Seoul. The pilot ejected safely and the accident triggered no different casualties.
In neighbouring Japan, the US army introduced final week that it was grounding its fleet of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor plane following a deadly crash that killed eight US airmen.
