Pilot erred by entering coordinates of wrong strike target, Air Force official says
Two South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a village near the inter-Korean border during a live-fire drill Thursday morning, injuring at least 15 people and damaging several buildings.
Two people were seriously injured, while 13 sustained minor injuries, according to fire authorities at around 2 p.m. Of the 13, 10 people were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
One person, 60, was seriously injured via shrapnel embedded in their neck, and was transferred to Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital, where they underwent surgery. Another person suffered a shoulder fracture.
Five of the 13 injured were identified as soldiers, military officials later added. Two others were foreign nationals: one person from Thailand and one from Nepal.
As all eight of the bombs detonated, seven civilian facilities, including homes, a cathedral and a greenhouse, were damaged, fire authorities said. Authorities continued to assess the extent of the damage throughout the afternoon. Residents were told to evacuate the area.
The South Korean Air Force, in a text message sent to reporters, confirmed that two KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly released eight MK-82 bombs outside the designated firing range near the Seungjin Training Ground in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, at 10:07 a.m. The fighter jet was participating in the allies’ first joint live-fire arms air drill of the year, tied to the annual South Korea-US Freedom Shield Exercise that officially kicks off next week.
The Air Force’s statement came about 100 minutes after authorities received a report of a presumed shell dropped in the city of Pocheon.
An the Air Force Operations Command official in a closed door briefing held at the Defense Ministry said that a fighter jet pilot had failed to insert accurate coordinates for the MK-82 bomb drop, which was located within the designated training area. Due to the error, the bombs were mistakenly dropped on an unintended target. All eight bombs have exploded.
“We have confirmed through the statement by the pilot that the coordinates were inaccurately inserted in the flight preparation process,” the official explained.
The KF-16 is a single-seat aircraft, and the two jets involved in the incident were piloted by South Korean Air Force captains.
Typically, pilots enter the coordinates into the system while on the ground and then verify them in the aircraft before conducting the strike. However, the pilot failed to perform this final verification, assuming the coordinates were correct, according to the Air Force official.
The second jet, flying in formation behind the lead aircraft, was also set to drop its bomb at the same time, following standard procedure. As a result, when the lead jet released its bomb, the second jet followed suit, compounding the misfire.
The Air Force apologized for the damage caused and pledged to conduct a swift investigation into the matter.
“We are conducting an investigation into the details of the accidents through a committee headed by vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Park Ki-wan,” it said.
“We are sorry for the civilian damage from the abnormal (bomb) release accident and wish for the swift recovery of those injured. We will actively take all necessary measures, including compensation for the damage.”
This marks the first time that civilians have been wounded in a joint military air drill conducted by the allies since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pocheon Mayor Baek Young-hyun, who visited the site of the incident at around 2:30 p.m., called for military authorities to temporarily halt all joint drills until they come up with firm measures for recovery and compensation.
“The site of the accident where the bombs were dropped is absolute chaos and reminds us of an actual battleground,” Baek said in a press briefing.
“I request the government and military authorities to completely halt all military exercises from now on until they come up with measures that could convince the people of Pocheon,” he added.
The MK-82 bomb is an unguided air-dropped munition widely used for destroying structures such as buildings and bridges. It creates an explosion crater approximately 8 meters in diameter and 2.4 meters deep.
The live-fire drill was part of joint exercises involving the South Korean Air Force and Army along with US Forces Korea, with the participation of multiple fighter jets, including the F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 and FA-50.
