A United States pilot successfully ejected from an F-16 fighter jet on Tuesday before the aircraft plunged into the ocean off the coast of South Korea.
According to a statement from the 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, the incident occurred on Wednesday at approximately 8:41 a.m. local time (6:41 p.m. Tuesday, EST). The pilot, who has not yet been identified, encountered an "in-flight emergency" while flying over South Korea's southwestern shores from Kunsan Air Base. The emergency ultimately led to the crash. Fortunately, the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane before impact and was subsequently recovered less than an hour later. He remained conscious throughout the ordeal and was promptly transported to a medical facility for further evaluation.
Expressing gratitude for the successful rescue operation, Colonel Matthew C. Gaetke, the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing, stated, "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." Gaetke added that the focus would now shift towards locating and retrieving the crashed aircraft.
The statement also noted that no additional details regarding the nature of the emergency would be disclosed to the public until a thorough investigation had been conducted.
This incident marks the second time in the past two months that a U.S. F-16 fighter jet has crashed near South Korea. In early December, another pilot experienced an unspecified emergency, resulting in an emergency ejection before the aircraft crashed into the Yellow Sea. Similar to the recent incident, the pilot involved in the December crash was also assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing. At the time, the pilot was awake and in stable condition following the recovery.
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