A United States F-16 fighter crashed on Wednesday night (31, Tuesday night in Brasília) in the sea off the west coast of South Korea, but the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft and was later rescued, reported the local Yonhap agency.
“The fighter jet fell into the water and the rescued pilot is safe,” said Yonhap, which located the accident near Gunsan in North Jeolla province.
American forces deployed in Korea told the France-Presse news agency (AFP) that Yonhap’s information was “not incorrect.” Police in Gunsan told AFP they were investigating the accident.
In December and May last year, two more F-16 fighter jets crashed in South Korea during routine training exercises. In both cases, the pilot was unharmed.
The United States is Seoul’s main security ally and has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.