All Air Force Aircraft Grounded Until Morning of April 22
Except for Essential Operational Assets
A formation of KA-1 tactical control aircraft taking off from the Air Force 8th Fighter Wing (Photo by Air Force)
The Air Force has decided to suspend all flights of its aircraft, except for essential operational assets, in order to address the recent incidents involving the accidental dropping of machine guns and fuel tanks from light attack aircraft.
According to Air Force officials on April 20, the Air Force has grounded all aircraft types, except for essential emergency standby assets such as surveillance and reconnaissance forces, until the morning of April 22.
The Air Force added that it will conduct accident case education to prevent similar incidents from occurring again, and will also hold a "Flight Safety Resolution Meeting" for pilots, maintenance personnel, and others.
Due to the flight suspension, the ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint air exercise "Freedom Flag" has also been disrupted.
All flight training scheduled as part of Freedom Flag will be suspended until the morning of April 22, and will resume in the afternoon of April 22 after accident case education and the resolution meeting for pilots and maintenance personnel are held.
Freedom Flag is a large-scale joint air exercise held twice a year by the air forces of both countries. This year, it began on April 17 and involves a total of about 90 South Korean and U.S. aircraft over a two-week period.
Lee Youngsu, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, plans to convene a meeting of all flight unit commanders on April 21 to emphasize the need for strengthened command and management in response to the recent string of incidents, including last month's "accidental bombing of a civilian area" by a fighter jet, and to call for measures to prevent recurrence.
On April 18, a KA-1 airborne control attack aircraft belonging to the Air Force 8th Fighter Wing dropped two gun pods and two empty external fuel tanks over Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province at approximately 8:22 p.m. during a nighttime simulated firing exercise.
The gun pods, which are cases equipped with machine guns, contained the machine guns themselves and a total of 500 rounds of 12.7mm live ammunition, all of which fell to the ground. Fortunately, the attack aircraft dropped the items in a mountainous area, resulting in no civilian damage. On the previous day, the Air Force recovered the gun pods and ammunition in the mountainous area of Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Province, and is continuing to search for the remaining fuel tanks and several rounds of ammunition.
The Air Force Accident Investigation Committee has reportedly obtained a statement from the pilot responsible for the incident, indicating that the pilot "pressed the wrong control button."
This incident occurred just over a month after an unprecedented "accidental bombing of a civilian area" on March 6, when an Air Force KF-16 fighter jet dropped an air-to-ground bomb on a civilian area during a South Korea-U.S. joint exercise.
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