4 killed in collision, crash of 2 Air Force trainer jets
Debris from an Air Force KT-1 trainer jet is seen in a field at Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, southeastern Korea, April 1, after two Air Force KT-1 trainer jets collided in midair and crashed. The accident left four pilots dead. Yonhap
Two Air Force KT-1 trainer jets collided in midair and crashed Friday, killing all four pilots aboard the planes, according to Air Force and local disaster response officials.
The jets went down in a rice paddy in Sacheon, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, after colliding with each other in midair at around 1:37 p.m. during a training exercise, just minutes after takeoff from a nearby base, they said.
Over 62 firefighters and emergency responders were dispatched to the crash site. A fire broke out on the rooftop of a church after debris from one jet fell on it, but was soon put out.
Yoon Dae-gyu, a 75-year-old farmer who lived near the crash site, said he heard a thunderous noise and later saw a piece of metal falling from the sky.
"It's scary imagining that I could have been hit by that," he said.
The Air Force formed a task force, led by its deputy chief of staff, to handle the aftermath of the accident with a plan to look into what caused it.
Korea has operated the locally developed single-engine, two-seat basic training aircraft since 2000. (Yonhap)