South Korean fighter jet crashes in Yellow Sea

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean F-16 fighter jet crashed Tuesday off
the country's west coast, Air Force officials said, adding the pilots
successfully ejected.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, the Air Force officials said.
The pilot and his copilot were rescued by a helicopter and a boat following the
crash, which took place at 12:20 p.m. off Taean County in South Chungcheong
Province, about 150 km south of Seoul.
The crash took place shortly after the aircraft took off from an airfield in
Seosan, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, the officials said, adding the
fighter jet was "carrying out a mission" before the incident.
No exact coordinates were immediately available as to the location of the crash.
"We're collecting debris of the aircraft around the area, and have set up a unit
to investigate the cause of the crash," an official said.
The crash is the first since July 2007 when a similar model, officially known as
KF-16, tumbled into the western waters.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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