US F-16 fighter crashes off Gunsan; pilot rescued
An F-16 fighter of the U.S. Air Force takes off at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, in this Feb. 20, 2023 file photo. Newsis
A U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed in waters off Korea's west coast on Wednesday and the pilot was rescued after ejecting from the aircraft, the U.S. Air Force said.
The jet assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing in Kunsan Air Base, about 180 kilometers south of Seoul, experienced an "in-flight emergency" over the Yellow Sea and crashed at approximately 8:41 a.m., 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs said in a release.
The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was recovered at around 9:30 a.m. through joint rescue efforts by Korea and U.S. officials.
The U.S. military said the pilot is in stable condition and an investigation is currently under way to figure out the cause of the incident.
"We are very thankful to the Republic of Korea rescue forces and all of our teammates who made the swift recovery of our pilot possible," said Col. Matthew C. Gaetke, 8th Fighter Wing commander. "Now we will shift our focus to search and recovery of the aircraft.
It marks the third U.S. F-16 crash in Korea in a year.
In December, an F-16 of the U.S. 8th Fighter Wing crashed into the Yellow Sea during routine training due to an in-flight emergency. In May, an F-16 of the U.S. 51st Fighter Wing crashed near Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul. There were no casualties in both cases as the pilots ejected from aircraft. (Yonhap)