Pilot killed in plane crash at Taean air show

By Park Si-soo, Kim Rahn

A pilot died after his light plane crashed during an air show in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, Saturday.

The plane went down at 11:30 a.m., two minutes after takeoff, on the Taean campus of Hanseo University, during an aerobatics show.

The pilot, surnamed Ahn, 49, was transferred to a hospital but was declared dead. There were no spectator casualties as the plane crashed on the runway.

Ahn, a former air force major who had been transferred to the reserves, worked as an instructor at the university’s Flight Education Center until July 2011. He was the CEO of a company in the startup incubating center within the university.

He was a veteran pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flight experience, and was fully qualified to operate the light plane, according to the school and aviation authorities. However, no application had been filed with the regional aviation office for an aerobatic display, which is required at least one week before the event.

“We did not receive any application for the aerobatics flight, and this is in violation of the Aviation Law,” an official from the Seoul Regional Office of Aviation said.

Hanseo officials said they requested a flight-related agency to handle the show, adding they have not confirmed whether the agency applied for approval.

The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is investigating the exact cause of the incident.