The incident occurred close to an American base on the countryβs southwestern coast
An American F-16 fighter jet has crashed in the waters near South Korea, the US military has confirmed. The incident marks the third time a US war plane has gone down in the region in less than a year.
A fighter pilot was forced to abandon the jet and ejected from the aircraft early Wednesday morning, with the F-16 falling into waters off the coast of Gunsan, South Korea, near Washingtonβs Kunsan Air Base, Yonhap reported.
βInformation on the cause of the in-flight emergency will not be made available until the conclusion of thorough safety and accident investigations,βΒ said Col. Matthew C. Gaetke, 8th Fighter Wing commander.
βWe are very thankful to the Republic of Korea rescue forces and all of our teammates who made the swift recovery of our pilot possible,β said Col. Matthew Gaetke, 8th Fighter Wing commander, in a statement. βNow we will shift our focus to search and recovery of the aircraft.β
