KF-16 Friendly Fire Incident Pilots Suspended from Air Duty for 1 Year

Air Force Holds Air Duty Qualification Review Board on the 21st

On the 6th, two pilots involved in the KF-16 fighter jet friendly fire incident in the Pocheon area of Gyeonggi Province were suspended from their air duty qualifications for one year.

On the 21st, the Air Force held an 'Air Duty Qualification Review Board' regarding the two pilots involved in the fighter jet friendly fire incident and decided to suspend their air duty qualifications for one year, effective immediately.

Yonhap News

According to the Air Force, the pilots caused the accident by incorrectly inputting the target coordinates at the time of the incident. The pilot of aircraft number 1 read out the coordinates, and the pilot of aircraft number 2 entered them into the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS), mistakenly inputting the latitude coordinate ‘xx 05.xxx’ as ‘xx 00.xxx’. They were also criticized for failing to go through the three-step verification process afterward.

The Air Force stated, “Further reviews will be conducted based on the results of the investigation and inquiry by the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters.”