The South Korean Air Force (ROKAF) decided to cancel military exercises after lose an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter in an accident on Sunday (20)

The twice-yearly Soaring Eagle exercise was due to start on Monday. This is one of the largest and most important trainings held in South Korea, involving hundreds of military personnel and fighter and early warning aircraft.

The first edition of Soaring Eagle this year was held in June, with 200 soldiers and 70 planes. After the aircraft crashed, the ROKAF opted to reschedule the training.

The accident occurred around 08:05 local time when the plane, a KF-16C from the 19th Fighter Wing, suffered an engine failure during a training flight. The pilot, the only crew member, ejected and was taken to the hospital with no major injuries. The aircraft crashed in a mountain region 85 km from the capital Seoul. 

The crash caused the ROKAF to ground most of the KF-16 fleet while it investigates the causes of the accident, leaving only the jets assigned to air defense missions in operation. With most F-16s unavailable, the exercise would suffer.

This is the fourth military aircraft accident in South Korea in 2022: in January a fighter pilot died when your F-5 crashed after suffering engine problems; three months later, four airmen died in a air collision involving two KT-1 trainer planes; in August the ROKAF lost an F-4E Phantom II, one of its oldest models still in operation. 

In addition to the F-16s, the ROKAF has F-35 Lightning II, F-15K Slam Eagle, F-5E Tiger II and F-4E Phantom II fighters; the country is investing billions in development of the KAI KF-21 Boramae, which should replace the last two models from 2026. 

With information Joongang Daily