According to Agence France-Presse, the U.S. side confirmed that the U.S. F-16 fighter plane stationed in South Korea that fell near Gunsanji Island, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, suffered a "flight emergency" early on January 31 local time, and the pilot has been rescued.
According to the report, the U.S. military said in a statement that an F-16 fighter jet belonging to the 8th Fighter Wing "experienced a flight emergency and crashed at 8:41 a.m. today." The statement added that "the pilot ejected safely and was rescued at around 9:30 a.m." He is conscious and has been taken to a medical facility for evaluation. ”
Now we will shift our focus to the search and salvage of aircraft. Matthew Gateke, commander of the 8th U.S. Fighter Wing, said.
In recent months, US fighter planes have been involved in frequent accidents. In December 2023, Yonhap News Agency quoted sources as saying that a U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed into the water after taking off from Gunsan Air Base, 178 kilometers south of Seoul, and the pilot escaped in an emergency. Gunsan Air Base is the second largest air base of the US military stationed in South Korea, and it is also the only US base in the peninsula where an attack drone squadron is deployed.
*: Zhao Boyuan, Huanqiu.com.