An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, crashed in an agricultural area about 1112 miles from Osan Air Base at approximately 9:45 a.m. Saturday. The pilot ejected safely and was transported to the Osan Air Base Urgent Care Center for evaluation. The jet caught fire after crashing, resulting in the aircraft being mostly destroyed. The U.S. Air Force will stand up an independent Safety Investigation Board to review all data and evidence related to the incident and prescribe any corrective safety measures to ensure the safety of the F-16 fleet.
According to data from the Air Force Safety Center, there were 10 Class A and B mishaps involving U.S. Air Force Fighting Falcons in fiscal 2022, but no deaths. In fiscal 2021, there were three Class A and B mishaps, but one pilot died, according to the center. South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing had two F-16 fighter jet landing accidents in less than a month, and one F-16C went over the edge of the runway upon returning from a training mission on May 31, 20 The 8th Fighter Wing, known as the “Wolf Pack”, provides combat-ready F-16 C/D fighter aircraft to conduct air operations throughout the Pacific theater. On April 4, an upgraded Fighting Falcon rejoined 8th FW operations after about seven weeks away for upgrades.
The primary upgrade was the installation of the APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar with an active electronically scanned array and Center Display Unit technology. Other upgrades included a programmable data generator, new-generation electronic warfare capability, a communications suite upgrade, and a modernized mission computer. The service owns about 900 F-16C/D airframes, which have flown since the 1980s. Each jet cost $19 million in 1998 dollars, or more than $30 million now.