US F-16 fighter jet crashes off S. Korea, pilot rescued: Yonhap
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The US military says the F-16 fighter jet experienced an "in-flight emergency" over the West Sea off South Korea and crashed early Wednesday.
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This image provided by the US Air Force, an F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 510th Fighter Squadron takes off during Red Flag 24-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on Jan 25, 2024. (Staff Sgt. Heather Ley/U.S. Air Force via AP)
An American F-16 fighter jet crashed in waters off South Korea's west coast Wednesday morning, the Yonhap news agency reported, with the pilot rescued after ejecting from the aircraft.
"The fighter jet crashed into the water and the rescued pilot is safe," Yonhap reported, adding the accident happened near Gunsan, North Jeolla province.
US Forces Korea, which oversees American troops stationed in South Korea, confirmed the Yonhap report and said it would release details of the incident shortly.
Later, the US military said the F-16 fighter jet experienced an "in-flight emergency" over the West Sea off South Korea and crashed early Wednesday.
"An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing here experienced an in-flight emergency over the West Sea and crashed at approximately 8:41am (2341 GMT) today," the military said in a statement.
It added that "the pilot ejected safely and was recovered at around 9:30 am. He is conscious and was transported to a medical facility for assessment."
"Information on the cause of the in-flight emergency will not be made available until the conclusion of thorough safety and accident investigations," the statement read.
This is the third crash of an American F-16 fighter jet in South Korea since May 2023.
A US F-16 fighter jet crashed in December in South Korea during a routine training exercise after experiencing what the US military said was "an in-flight emergency". The pilot was also rescued in that case.
In May, a US F-16 jet crashed during a routine training exercise in a farming area south of Seoul. The pilot ejected safely and the accident caused no other casualties.
In neighboring Japan, the US military announced late last year that it was grounding its fleet of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft following a deadly crash that killed eight US airmen.
