Pilot under investigation after KA-1 jetfighter accidentally ejects weapons and fuel
Published: 20 Apr. 2025, 17:53
Updated: 20 Apr. 2025, 18:00
![The Korean Air Force's KA-1 [KOREAN AIR FORCE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/04/20/cc077745-a81e-49b2-ae70-cb0f4e8fd096.jpg)
The Korean Air Force's KA-1 [KOREAN AIR FORCE]
A KA-1 jetfighter that dropped its weapons and fuel tanks on Friday likely did so “mistakenly,” raising concerns regarding military discipline in the Korean Air Force, especially since a jetfighter wrongly bombed civilian grounds about two months ago.
On Friday at around 8 p.m., a KA-1 light attack aircraft jettisoned two gun pods and two empty fuel tanks while conducting flight maneuvers over Pyeongchang County, Gangwon.
The aircraft took off at 7:54 p.m. from the Air Force base in Wonju, Gangwon on Friday, after which the aircraft released two gun pods loaded with 500 rounds of 12.7 mm live ammunition, along with two empty external fuel tanks, at 8:22 p.m.
The Air Force later confirmed no civilian injuries or property damage, as the gear landed in a remote mountain area.
“We deployed one HH-60 helicopter and around 270 personnel starting at 6 a.m. on April 20 to search the expected drop zone,” the Air Force said. “We recovered two gun pods in a mountainous area of Jucheon-myeon, Yeongwol County, Gangwon.”
The Air Force is still searching for the fuel tanks and about 10 missing rounds as of Sunday.
The Air Force’s investigation committee, led by deputy chief of staff Park Gi-wan, is looking into the possibility that the incident occurred after the pilot confused the emergency jettison button with another nearby control, according to military sources on Sunday.
On the KA-1, that button — designed to drop external payloads in emergencies — sits close to other systems.
The pilot also apparently told investigators that they “may have pressed the wrong button.” However, the aircraft carried two instructor pilots with more than 1,290 and 870 flight hours, respectively, making the argument less feasible.
“We’ve seen fuel tanks fall due to mechanical problems, but we can hardly find any precedent for a pilot accidentally jettisoning equipment,” a military official said.
Friday's incident comes after chief of staff Lee Yong-su pledged to “deeply reflect and correct faculty practices with a resolve as strong as cutting bone so that such accidents never happen again” following a separate accident on March 6, when a fighter jet participating in an MK-82 air-to-ground bomb drill at a training site in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, misfired on a nearby civilian area.
In response to Friday's accident, the Air Force has decided to impose flight restrictions on all of its aircraft, excluding those that conduct reconnaissance operations or are on emergency standby, until Tuesday morning, according to an Air Force official.
The move is expected to affect the Freedom Flag air exercise, a large-scale combined exercise between Korea and the United States, underway since Thursday.
The Air Force also plans to conduct safety training through which pilots can reinforce resolve.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE KEUN-PYUNG, LEE YU-JUNG [[email protected][
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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