The Air Force said on the 4th that the crash of an F-16C fighter jet over the Yeongju area of North Gyeongsang Province on the 25th of last month occurred due to a midair collision. According to the Air Force, two fighters collided in the air while flying in formation, failed to recover to a normal attitude, and the pilot made an emergency ejection.
According to the Air Force that day, two F-16C fighter jets took off from the Air Force's Chungju base at about 6:58 p.m. on the 25th of last month for night flight training. They were conducting advanced tactical training using night-vision goggles, and as the final step of the training, the two pilots carried out a battle damage check. This is a mandatory procedure to visually confirm whether the aircraft's airframe surface or equipment has been damaged.
The accident occurred while this procedure was underway. During a turn to avoid leaving the mission airspace during the battle damage check, the No. 1 aircraft's left fuel tank struck the No. 2 aircraft's right wing. After the collision, the No. 2 aircraft's flight control system did not operate normally and its altitude decreased. The pilot made an emergency ejection before ground impact, it was found.
The Air Force accident investigation team determined that the No. 1 aircraft's pilot, who was wearing night-vision goggles, failed to accurately judge the distance to the No. 2 aircraft, causing the contact accident. Wearing night-vision goggles narrows the field of view and degrades depth perception, and the team judged that the No. 1 pilot made a mistake. The Air Force said, "The incident occurred because the No. 1 pilot failed to accurately judge distance and closure rate."
Midair collisions in the Air Force have occurred in the past as well. Most recently, in 2022, two Air Force KT-1 trainers collided midair and crashed over Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, killing four people.
The Air Force said, "We are once again sorry for the concern caused by the accident," adding, "We will make every effort in preventive measures to keep flight accidents from recurring." As the cause of the accident was confirmed not to be an aircraft defect, the Air Force plans to soon resume flights of the F-16C model.