Two Air Force pilots booked over accidental fighter jet bombing

Two KF-16 fighter jets dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometres north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, injuring 38 people, including 24 civilians.

13 Mar 2025 01:12pm

This picture taken on August 28, 2015 shows South Korean KF-16 fighter jets dropping bombs on a mountain target during a joint live firing drill between South Korea and the US at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon. Two South Korean Air Force fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a village during a joint training exercise with US forces on March 6, 2025, officials said, with civilians among 15 people injured. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

SEOUL - Two Air Force fighter jet pilots were booked Thursday over last week's accidental bombing of a village after pilot error was found to be the cause of the accident, South Korean’s defence ministry said.

Last Thursday, two KF-16 fighter jets dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometres north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, injuring 38 people, including 24 civilians.

"The Criminal Investigation Command has confirmed in the probe to date that the pilots' erroneous entry of target coordinates was the direct cause of the accident," Yonhap news agency reported the defense ministry said in a notice to reporters.

The pilots, booked as of Thursday, have been charged with professional negligence resulting in injury, according to the ministry.

In an interim probe released Monday, the Air Force pointed to pilot error for the accidental bombing, saying the pilots had at least three opportunities to catch their mistake after entering the wrong target coordinates prior to takeoff.

The Air Force also attributed the accident to inadequate management and inspection procedures and dismissed two unit commanders over their failure to give specific instructions to their subordinates. - BERNAMA-YONHAP