Tag: F-16

Now we know what caused a USFK F-16 to crash this past December:

The crash of an Air Force fighter jet off South Korea’s western coast last year was due to the loss of instrumentation and poor weather, according to a 7th Air Force news release Friday. The F-16C Fighting Falcon was over the Yellow Sea on Dec. 11 when it crashed “due to loss of primary flight and navigation instruments during adverse weather conditions,” the release states. The fighter belonged to the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, 115 miles south of Seoul.

The pilot survived the crash although the aircraft was a total loss, according to 7th Air Force. The Accident Investigation Board found that the F-16’s loss of flight and navigation instruments was prompted by the failure of an embedded GPS inertial navigation system. That system’s failure, along with the unidentified pilot’s reliance on other indicators that showed inaccurate readings, led to “spatial disorientation,” according to the release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Is this just some kind of strange streak of bad luck or are these crashes a symptom of something else?:

Amid an “in-flight emergency,” a U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed in waters off South Korea’s west coast Wednesday morning, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement, adding that the pilot had “ejected safely” and was transported conscious to a medical facility for assessment. (…..)

This is the second time in less than two months that the U.S. Air Force has experienced incidents with its F-16s. In December, another F-16 fighter jet from the 8th Fighter Wing crashed into the Yellow Sea off South Korea’s southeastern coast, with the pilot also having ejected safely before the crash. At the time, Gaetke ordered a two-day pause on flights for investigation and recovery of the aircraft. It’s unclear if that investigation has concluded.

Last May, another F-16 pilot ejected safely before the aircraft crashed into farmland near Osan Air Base.

TIME

You can read more at the link as well as over at the Stars & Stripes.

It seems like every other year an F-16 crashes into the Yellow Sea, here is the latest example. Fortunately the pilot was recovered safely:

An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed Monday morning off South Korea’s western coast, according to the 8th Fighter Wing.

The fighter from Kunsan Air Base was flying over the Yellow Sea when it experienced an in-flight emergency at 8:43 a.m., the wing said in a news release Monday.

The pilot ejected and was rescued at sea by the South Korean navy and coast guard, 7th Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Rachel Buitrago told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.

A South Korean air force helicopter airlifted the pilot to Kunsan, she added.

The pilot is awake and in stable condition, according to the news release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is more details on the incident involving an F-16 at Kunsan Airbase:

An F-16 pilot who was injured when he ejected at Kunsan Air Base has been released from the hospital, but the aircraft was damaged, according to the Air Force.

The Fighting Falcon pilot from the 8th Fighter Wing suffered minor injuries when he ejected during a landing after a routine sortie on Monday.

He was released in good condition, the 8th Fighter Wing said Wednesday in a press release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the article did not say exactly what caused the pilot to eject.

The article doesn’t say what condition the aircraft was in other than the pilot was injured. Hopefully he the pilot isn’t injured too badly:

 A pilot from a United States Air force unit in the South Korean city of Gunsan sustained injuries while landing an F-16 fighter jet at the unit’s air base Monday.

The pilot from the 8th Fighter Wing suffered minor injuries while trying to get out of the fighter on the runway at around 3:30 p.m., according to military sources. 

The pilot was sent to a hospital, although the exact reason the pilot tried to exit the cockpit and the overall condition F-16 at the time of the landing remain unclear. 

No crash or explosion were reported at the base on South Korea’s west coast, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.

Following the incident, the head of the 8th Fighter Wing temporarily halted all military and civilian flight operations from Gunsan. Investigators are currently looking into the exact cause of the mishap.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering how the Korean left went irrationally crazy about 20 gallons of formaldehyde that went through not one, but two water treatment plants before entering the Han River I can only imagine what they can dream up with 600 gallons of fuel dropped into this lake outside of Kunsan:

A U.S. fighter jet jettisoned its auxilliary fuel tanks into a lake near Kunsan Air Base after suffering an in-flight emergency during a training mission.

The pilot of the F-16, which was assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing, released the drop tanks Wednesday after receiving an indication of an oil system malfunction, a spokeswoman said

“The pilot safely executed the established emergency procedures, which included releasing the fuel tanks before landing unharmed,” Lt. Col. Michal Kloeffler-Howard said Friday in an email.

The tanks fell into a lake in an area owned by the Saemangeum Regional Environmental Office under the Ministry of Environment, about two miles west of Kunsan Air Base, the 7th Air Force public affairs officer said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Fortunately it appears no one was seriously hurt from this emergency landing at Osan AB:

A U.S. pilot escaped from a fighter jet after making an emergency landing during an aerial combat exercise, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Saturday.

The USFK said a pilot of F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron successfully escaped from his jet after landing at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The incident occurred at approximately 5 p.m.

The USFK said emergency teams have reached the pilot with authorities trying to determine the cause of the incident.  [Yonhap]

Here is the press release from Osan Airbase that shows that the pilot actually ejected from the aircraft while on the ground:

After landing from a training mission, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot ejected from an F-16 Fighting Falcon

assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron at approximately 5 p.m.

The pilot was taken to the 51st Medical Group clinic and was listed in good condition.

“We are relieved that our Mustang pilot ejected safely, and is now in the good hands of our medical team,”

said Col. Andrew Hansen, 51st Fighter Wing commander. “We are currently focused on thoroughly

investigating the cause of this incident in order to minimize the chances of it happening again in the future.”

A board of officers will investigate the accident as part of a safety investigation board.  [Osan AB]