U.S. Air Force blames flight instruments failure for December F-16 crash

A U.S. F-16 fighter jet crash in the Yellow Sea last December occurred due to loss of primary flight and navigation instruments during poor weather conditions, the U.S. Air Force stationed in South Korea said Friday. On Dec. 11, the single-engine fighter jet assigned to the U.S. 7th Air Force's 8th Fighter Wing crashed into waters near Kunsan Air Base in the western coastal city of Gunsan, 176 kilometers south of Seoul. The pilot safely ejected and was rescued. This file photo, taken March 16, 2022, shows an F-16 flying over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, about 65 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) This file photo, taken March 16, 2022, shows an F-16 flying over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, about 65 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) After an investigation, the U.S. Air Force's Accident Investigation Board found the jet experienced an embedded GPS inertial navigation system (EGI) failure, resulting in the loss of primary flight and navigation instruments about 13 minutes after takeoff, according to the 7 th Air Force. The pilot experienced disorientation but continued to fly with navigation and altitude information provided by a wingman, it said, noting the weather conditions at the time required a reliance on flight instruments to maintain control. But the mismatch in data between a standby attitude indicator experiencing errors and the wingman's cues resulted in further spatial disorientation, and the pilot decided to eject, it said. The total destruction of the fighter jet limited the investigation board's ability to analyze physical evidence and determine the cause of the EGI failure, it added. The incident was one of three recent U.S. F-16 crashes in South Korea. A U.S. F-16 crashed into farmland in May 2023, followed by the December incident, and another crash into waters off Gunsan in January this year. All of the pilots ejected from the aircraft and were rescued. The investigation board blamed the May crash on a partial aircraft power loss. An investigation into the January incident is still be ing conducted, but preliminary findings do not indicate that it was related to the previous two crashes, the 7th Air Force said. Source: Yonhap News Agency