January 11, 2022 19:52 PM
A South Korean Air Force F-5E fighter jet
On the afternoon of January 11, 2022, a South Korean Air Force F-5E fighter jet crashed in a mountain in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The whereabouts of the pilot are currently unknown.
According to a report by the Korea Herald on January 11, 2022, on the afternoon of January 11, local time, a South Korean F-5E fighter jet crashed in the mountains of Gyeonggi Province.
South Korean government officials said the plane crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, minutes after taking off from Suwon Air Force Base, south of Seoul, at 13:46 local time.
A number of Korean media reported on the scene: the fuselage caught fire and black smoke billowed. Korean media said the cause of the accident is under investigation.
The South Korean Air Force said in a statement that the fighter jet crashed after taking off from the Air Force Suwon base without ammunition, and is currently confirming whether the pilot ejected successfully.
The specific crash site of the plane was a wild mountain in Guanxiang-ri, just south of Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi-do, and no civilians were injured in the accident. At present, the fire department has dispatched 2 helicopters and 16 fire trucks to participate in the rescue.
South Korea has operated about 200 F-5s since the 1970s, most of which have been out of service or will soon be out of service after reaching their full life cycle.
In 2013, an aircraft of the same type crashed into a mountain in central South Korea during a flight training due to poor maintenance.
The Jan. 11, 2022 crash is the latest incident involving an Air Force jet. Last week, an F-35A fighter jet made an emergency landing during training in Seosan, 150 kilometers south of Seoul.
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