F-5 fighter jet |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Two older F-5 fighter jets crashed into a mountain in the eastern part of Gangwon Province, Tuesday, the Air Force said.
All three pilots were believed to have been dead as a search-and-rescue team found debris and body parts near the mountain in the evening, the service said.
The single-seat F-5E and twin-seat F-5F took off from an air base in Gangneung around 12:20 p.m. for a routine training mission, but the aircraft were missing in action about 20 kilometers west of Gangneung five minutes after takeoff, it said.
Two UH-60 search-and-rescue helicopters were dispatched to the area and later found the jets had crashed into Mt. Hwangbyeong, it said.
The Air Force is investigating the cause of the accident.
This is the first jet crash in almost a year after a KF-16 fighter crashed off the west coast on March 31 last year. The last F-5 crash occurred in November 2008.
The F-5 aircraft were operational with the ROK Air Force in the 1980s.
Under a military modernization program, South Korea has purchased 60 F-15k fighter jets and will buy 60 more to replace the country's aging fleet of F-4/5 jets.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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