Air Force grounds nearly all aircraft after accidental bombing of village
A damaged building is seen in the aftermath of fighter jets' accidental bombing in Pocheon, north of Seoul, March 6. Yonhap
The Air Force has grounded almost all of its aircraft after two of its fighter jets mistakenly bombed a village in a northern city earlier this week, an official said Friday.
On Thursday, two KF-16 fighter jets "abnormally" released eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, leaving 15 people injured, according to military and rescue officials.
As part of response measures, the Air Force has decided to impose flight restrictions on all of its aircraft, excluding those that conduct reconnaissance operations and others on emergency standby, according to the Air Force official.
The flight restrictions are likely to remain until an internal investigation determines the cause of the accidental bombing, the official said, noting the results are not expected to take long.
The move comes after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Young-su vowed Thursday to come up with preventative measures and require all pilots to undergo safety education as he apologized for the bombing.
Pilot error is suspected to have caused the accidental bombing as one of the pilots of the jets entered the wrong target coordinates prior to takeoff, according to another Air Force official, citing an initial probe.
The military has suspended all live-fire training until the exact cause of the accident is found. (Yonhap)