Combat aircraft operations in the Asia-Pacific region have had a rough start to 2022, with a string of high-profile aircraft accidents in South Korea and Taiwan in the first two weeks of the year.
On Jan. 4, a South Korean Air Force (RoKAF) Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter made an emergency belly landing at Seosan Air Force Base during a routine training flight, prompting the service to suspend operations of the aircraft.
A Ministry of Defence (MND) spokesman said the department had launched a formal investigation into the emergency landing and the fleet would remain grounded until the investigation was completed.
ROK Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff Shin Ok-cheol testified at a National Assembly hearing the next day that the uninjured pilot had an abnormality in the plane’s avionics system while flying at low altitude and made an emergency landing at the nearest air base instead of abandoning the plane.
However, the Southrop Grumman F-5E Tiger II was lost on January 11 after a Northrop Grumman F-5E Tiger II fighter jet crashed on a hill in Hwaseong after taking off from Suwon Air Force Base. Fighters and their pilots. The engine fire warning light was activated minutes after takeoff, but the pilot was unable to eject from the plane in two attempts, MND said.
Meanwhile, the loss of a recently upgraded Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jet of the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) after it crashed into the sea on Jan. 11 also prompted the department to suspend F-16 training operations for investigation.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the plane lost contact with radar and communications after taking off from the fleet, and was also missing from radar screens after taking off from Chiayi Air Force Base in southern Taiwan on a training mission.
Witnesses saw the plane crash into the sea and found the wreckage, the government’s rescue command center said.However, despite the involvement of multiple helicopters and Coast Guard vessels overnight, the fate of the pilot is currently unknown
RoCAF only recently commissioned its first F-16V squadron in November 2021, which was assigned to its 4th Tactical Fighter Wing. The crashed plane was one of many F-16A/Bs that were upgraded locally to the latest V-configuration. Peace Phoenix Project.
The service has suffered a series of crashes in recent months, largely attributable to pilot error, including the loss of two F-5E Tiger II fighter jets following a mid-air collision off the southeastern coast of Taiwan in March 2021. Another F-5 and an F-16 were also lost in separate crashes in October and November 2020, respectively.
by Jr Ng
