A South Korean Air Force Northrop F-5E, operated by 10th FW, crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
An Air Force pilot died after an F-5E fighter jet crashed in central South Korea on Tuesday, the military said.
The aircraft crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, at 1:46 p.m. minutes after taking off from an Air Force base in the nearby city of Suwon, they said.
“An engine fire warning light turned on for the plane’s left and right sides after the takeoff at a Suwon base at 1:44 p.m., and the plane shortly nosedived,” the Air Force said in a statement.
The pilot with the rank of captain tried to eject but failed, it added.
The Air Force said it will form a task force to investigate the exact cause of the incident.
South Korea has operated around 200 F-5s since the 1970s, most of which are out of service or soon to be so after reaching a full life cycle
