SEOUL.– A pilot of the US Air Force he jumped safely Monday before his F-16 fighter crashed into the sea near South Korea’s southwest coast, U.S. and South Korean military officials said.
The unidentified pilot was recovered by South Korean maritime forces and was “awake and in stable condition,” the US 8th Fighter Wing said in a statement. The pilot was headed back to Kunsan Air Base, near the southwestern port of Gunsan, where he would undergo further checks.
The pilot had taken off from the air base, shared by the US and South Korean air forces, for a routine flight and was forced to jump after experiencing an unspecified in-flight emergency.
The 8th Fighter Wing, made up of two F-16 squadrons, said the cause of the emergency was being investigated.
“We are grateful that our pilot was recovered safely by our (South Korean military) allies and that the pilot is in good condition,” Col. Matthew C. Gaetke, commander of the 8th Fighter Wing, said in a statement. .
A U.S. Air Force Osprey plane crashed Nov. 29 south of Japan during a training mission, killing all eight people on board.
Source: With information from AP
