Thursday, June 14, 2001

F-16 crashes
since January, 2000

June 12, 2001: A U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot was killed when his plane crashed into a rice paddy about 40 miles southeast of Kunsan Air Base on South Korea’s west coast. The pilot’s name is being withheld. The pilot was on a training mission, and the aircraft was not carrying live ordnance.

April 3, 2001: A 13th Fighter Squadron F-16CJ plunged into the Pacific Ocean east of the Ripsaw Gunnery Range near Misawa Air Base, Japan. The pilot, 1st Lt. Mark Hadley, safely ejected and was rescued by Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces. No ground injuries were reported.

Nov. 18, 2000: An Air Force F-16 collided with a small civilian aircraft near Sarasota, Fla. The pilot of the military fighter parachuted safely onto a golf course. One person aboard the Cessna was killed. The F-16, from Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., was on a training mission when the accident occurred.

Nov. 13, 2000: Two 14th Fighter Squadron F-16CJs from Misawa Air Base collided in midair west of Hokkaido during Operation Keen Sword exercises. Col. Michael Lepper, 35th Operations Group commander, ejected from his aircraft. Capt. Warren B. Sneed was lost at sea. Air Force accident investigators cited both pilots for the accident.

Aug. 30, 2000: Air Force reservist Stephen Simons was killed after his F-16 crashed into a Texas Panhandle field near the town of Tulia, about halfway between Amarillo and Lubbock. The plane was part of the 457th Fighter Squadron, from Naval Air Station Fort Worth. Simons was returning from a training mission when the accident occurred.

June 23, 2000: A U.S. pilot parachuted to safety before his F-16 crashed in Northern Alberta. The fighter was taking part in a monthlong exercise .

June 18, 2000: An F-16 crashed in the southern Arizona desert during an air-to-air combat training exercise, about 14 miles southwest of Sells, Ariz., and east of the Barry M. Goldwater Range. The pilot ejected safely.

March 21, 2000: Veteran pilot Maj. Brison Phillips was killed when his F-16 crashed during a weekend air show near Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. Phillips was from the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C.

From Stars and Stripes and wire reports

A U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot was killed late Tuesday when his plane crashed into a rice paddy in South Korea.

The crash occurred about 10 p.m. as the pilot was on a training mission from Kunsan Air Base, said Steve Oertwig, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea. The pilot’s name is being withheld until his family is notified.

Air Force authorities would not say what unit the pilot was attached to at Kunsan. The 35th and 80th Fighter squadrons, both equipped with F-16s, are assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan.

Oertwig said the aircraft was not carrying live ordnance. The plane crashed about 40 miles southeast of the base.

It is not known whether the pilot ejected from the plane. South Korean news agencies reported the pilot’s body was found about 150 feet from the crash site.

There were no injuries on the ground, said an official in the village office at Supung in Imsil County where the crash occurred. The official, who would not give his name, said the plane crashed into a rice paddy, destroying newly planted rice but damaging no buildings.

He said the plane burned after hitting the ground and residents of the area were afraid to approach the crash site “because they were afraid there might be bombs aboard.”

Air Force officials have cordoned off the site to ensure the safety of residents, Oertwig said. He said a board of officers will investigate the incident.

It was the second F-16 crash in South Korea in a week. On June 7, a South Korean F-16D slammed into a hillside near Andong, about 150 miles southeast of Seoul.

Both men ejected safely and there were no injuries or damages on the ground, an air force spokesman said. The spokesman said the pilot of that plane aimed the aircraft for the hill before ejecting to prevent it from crashing into a nearby village.

Kunsan is a small base on the Yellow Sea about 150 miles south of Seoul. There are about 2,700 U.S. airmen and some 170 U.S. soldiers who man Patriot missile batteries at the base. About 1,250 South Korea airmen and soldiers also are assigned to the base.

The last reported U.S. crash at Kunsan occurred in August 1999 when one F-16 collided with another while landing at the base. The pilot of the plane that caused the collision ejected safely and the aircraft hit a hillside and burned. The pilot of the second plane landed safely and was not injured.

Several live bombs dropped from one of the two aircraft and fell into the sea at the end of the base runway. They did not explode, however, and were recovered by an explosive ordnance disposal team.

U.S. pilot dies as F-16 crashes into South Korea rice paddy

U.S. pilot dies as F-16 crashes
into South Korea rice paddy