A US F-16 fighter jet crashed in a rural area south of Seoul yesterday during a training mission, the US military said, but the crash did not result in injury or property damage. The US Air Force said in a statement that the pilot ejected and was safely released before the fighter crashed and was taken to a nearby hospital.
“An F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet crashed in an agricultural area near Osan Air Base around 09:45 a.m.,” Gongyi province said in a statement.
He indicated that the accident occurred during a planned training mission and is being investigated.
Provincial Governor Kim Dong-yong tweeted that firefighters were sent to the scene and the fire was extinguished.
Local media reports that the accident did not cause any loss of life or damage as it happened in a rural area.
“There are no residential buildings near the accident site that did not cause any damage (except for the plane crash),” the Yonhap news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.
Washington is Seoul’s main security ally and has about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help protect it from North Korea.
