Military: Cause of Pocheon KF-16 Friendly Fire Accident Was Pilot's Coordinate Input Error

Unprecedented Worst Friendly Fire Accident
No Unexploded Ordnance Found

During the Korea-US combined live-fire exercise, a bomb misdrop accident by our Air Force KF-16 fighter jets resulted in 15 civilians and military personnel sustaining moderate to serious injuries. The cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's erroneous input of the bomb drop coordinates.

On the afternoon of the 6th, the Air Force held an emergency briefing at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, stating, "The cause of this accident is currently understood to be a coordinate input error by the KF-16 pilot." Earlier that day, at around 10:04 AM near Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, two KF-16s abnormally dropped eight MK-82 general-purpose bombs (four bombs each).

According to the Air Force, 13 fighter jets including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16, and FA-50 participated in the "Combined Joint Integrated Fire Live-Fire Exercise" held that day. The participating fighter jets flew in five formations, and the accident occurred in the formation consisting of two KF-16s.

On the 6th, during the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises held at the Seungjin Training Ground in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, a shell fell on a residential area causing casualties. The village area where the accident occurred is being restricted. 2025.03.06 Photo by Joint Press Corps

The eight MK-82 bombs that were misdropped by the aircraft fell about 8 km away from the target. The MK-82 is a bomb typically used for destroying buildings and bridges. It creates an explosion crater 8 meters in diameter and 2.4 meters deep, and the lethal radius of one bomb covers an area roughly the size of a soccer field (105×68 m). Upon checking the impact site, no unexploded ordnance was found.

As a result of this accident, a total of 15 people, including five military personnel (three officers and two soldiers) and civilians, sustained moderate to serious injuries. The five military personnel were reported to have been at a religious facility where the bombs were abnormally dropped and at a nearby unit. They mostly suffered minor injuries such as abrasions, lacerations, and tinnitus symptoms.

The Air Force is judging the pilot's coordinate input error as the cause of the accident. Since the MK-82 is an unguided weapon, the pilot manually drops it. The pilot of the first aircraft initially entered the target coordinates incorrectly into the related device in the mission office and, without realizing the mistake, abnormally dropped the MK-82 bombs according to the wrongly set coordinates.

An Air Force official said, "There was a statement from the pilot regarding the accident, and since it was confirmed that the target coordinates were incorrectly entered, we judged the cause to be an input error," adding, "Whether there is a mechanical defect or another secondary cause needs to be further investigated."

However, the Air Force explained that additional investigation is needed to determine whether the secondary verification process?uploading the device containing the target coordinates into the fighter jet and the visual confirmation immediately before the drop?was properly conducted.

In the case of the second aircraft's pilot, the initial target coordinate input was correct, but due to the training process, the accident could not be prevented. An Air Force official stated, "The second pilot did input the coordinates correctly," but added, "Since the first and second aircraft move simultaneously during the mission, when the first aircraft fires, the second must also fire simultaneously, so the coordinates of the second aircraft are not very significant."

Meanwhile, the military has decided to suspend live-fire training until the cause of this accident is fully identified. An Air Force official expressed, "We sincerely apologize for the civilian damage caused by this accident," and "We wish for the speedy recovery of the injured."