US fighter jet crashes near major military base in South Korea

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A US F-16 fighter jet crashed during training on Saturday morning near a major US military base in South Korea, the US military said in a press release. 

The F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed "in an agricultural area" near Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea at 9:45 a.m. local time, the US Air Force said in a statement.

A U.S.-made F-16 V fighter taxis on the runway at an air force base in Chiayi county, Taiwan, on March 25, 2023. The country said Friday it used planes and ships to respond to Chinese aircraft that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to Reuters. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

The lone pilot was ejected safely and transported to the nearest medical facility, the military said. No civilians were hurt during the incident. 

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The military said that the pilot was participating in a routine daytime training sortie at the time of the incident, adding that the military is investigating the cause of the crash.

"While we don’t have any additional information yet, we are relieved the pilot safely ejected and there were no other injuries," Col. Henry R. Jeffress, III, 8th Fighter Wing commander said in a statement. "The US Air Force will standup an independent Safety Investigation Board to review all data and evidence related to today’s incident and use that information to determine its cause and prescribe any corrective safety measures to ensure the safety of the F-16 fleet." 

A man runs past a sign at the Osan US military air base south of Seoul. Osan Military base is the US' closet base to the border of North Korea. (YELIM LEE/AFP via Getty Images)

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In a Twitter post, South Korea’s Governor of Gyeonggi Province Kim Dong-yeon wrote that a local fire department was dispatched to diffused to extinguish the fire, noting that there is no risk of a secondary explosion from the crash. 

"The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters was immediately dispatched to extinguish the fire and rescue lives, and there is no risk of a secondary explosion," Governor Dong-yeon wrote in a translated post.

The military has not released the name of the pilot at this time.