Air Force pilot dies after F-5E fighter crashes in central Korea
Military officials check the wreckage of an F-5E fighter on a hill in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, where the plane belonging to the Air Force's 10th Combat Squadron crashed right after takeoff, Jan. 11. Yonhap
An Air Force pilot died after the F-5E fighter jet he was piloting crashed in central South Korea, Tuesday, according to military officials.
The aircraft crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, 40 kilometers south of Seoul, at 1:46 p.m. minutes after taking off from an Air Force base in the nearby city of Suwon, they said.
"An engine fire warning light turned on for the plane's left and right sides after the takeoff at a Suwon base at 1:44 p.m., and the plane nosedived shortly afterward," the Air Force said in a statement.
The pilot with the rank of captain tried to eject but failed, it added.
The Air Force said it will form a taskforce to investigate the exact cause of the incident.
South Korea has operated around 200 F-5s since the 1970s, most of which are out of service or soon to be so after reaching their full life cycle.
The same type of the jet crashed into a mountain in central South Korea in 2013 during a training flight due to poor maintenance.
Tuesday's plane crash is the latest incident involving the Air Force's jets. Last week, an F-35A fighter made an emergency landing in Seosan, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, also during a training flight. (Yonhap)