A South Korean Air Force pilot died on Tuesday in a crash of his Northrop F-5E Tiger fighter jet in the centre of the country, the military said in a statement.
The aircraft crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometres south of Seoul, minutes after taking off from an Air Force base in nearby Suwon, reports the Yonhap agency.
“A firelight came on on the left and right sides of the plane after takeoff from Suwon base (…), and the plane quickly nosed down,” the military said, specifying that the pilot, who had the rank of captain, tried to eject himself but did not succeed.
The Air Force will form a team to investigate the exact cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 metres from a village, without causing any civilian casualties.
A total of 12 Air Force-operated F-5s have crashed since 2000. The South Korean military currently has around 80 F-5s, and plans to phase them out of service by 2030.
