US pilot safely ejects from crashing F-16 near South Korea

An F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea off South Korea's southwestern coast near the city of Seosan on Wednesday, with a US Air Force pilot safely ejecting from it.

"An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing here experienced an in-flight emergency over the West Sea and crashed at approximately 8:41 a.m . (2341 GMT) today," the US military said in a statement.

"The pilot ejected safely and was recovered at around 9:30 a.m. He is conscious and was transported to a medical facility for assessment," it added.

Pilot recovered in joint effort

The US 8th Fighter Wing said it worked with US and South Korean mission partners to recover the pilot, who experienced an unspecified emergency during the flight, and ejected before the plane crashed into the ocean.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

"We are very thankful to the Republic of Korea rescue forces and all of our teammates who made the swift recovery of our pilot possible. Now we will shift our focus to search and recovery of the aircraft," said Colonel Matthew C. Gaetke, the wing's commander. 

The 8th Fighter Wing includes two F-16 squadrons. It experienced another F-16 crash in December. The pilot in that flight experienced problems during a routine training flight and was safely recovered after ejecting the aircraft before it crashed into sea near the port city of Gunsan.

In May 2023, a US F-16 jet crashed during a routine training exercise in a farming area south of Seoul. The pilot had ejected safely and no other casualties were reported.

tg/jsi (AFP, AP)