The South Korean Air Force has confirmed that pilot error caused the accidental jettison of weapons from a KA-1 light attack aircraft during a training exercise last Friday. The incident occurred when a pilot mistakenly pressed the emergency jettison button while attempting to adjust a heater.
According to the Air Force’s investigation, the rear-seat pilot of the KA-1 aircraft accidentally activated the emergency jettison system at approximately 8:13 p.m. on Apr. 18 while flying over Pyeongchang County in Gangwon Province. The aircraft, which had taken off from Wonju base at 7:54 p.m., released two gun pods containing 500 rounds of 50-caliber live ammunition and two empty external fuel tanks.
The Air Force reported that the pilot was wearing night vision goggles over a visor during the nighttime training exercise. Air flowing between the visor and goggles caused discomfort, prompting the pilot to adjust the heater’s airflow. Instead, the pilot mistakenly pressed the emergency jettison button located directly above the air vent.
“The emergency jettison button on the KA-1 is placed directly above the heater vent,” an Air Force official explained. “The air vent has a diameter of about 3.3 cm, while the emergency jettison button is about 3.5 cm, making their shapes and sizes similar.”
The equipment fell in a forested, mountainous area of Jucheon-myeon in Yeongwol County, with no civilian injuries reported. Search teams have recovered the two gun pods and most of the ammunition, but the fuel tanks and five rounds of ammunition remain missing.
The pilot responsible for the error, a captain with over 870 flight hours who is qualified as an instructor, was seated behind a Major with more than 1,290 flight hours of experience. Despite the pilots’ extensive experience, the incident has raised concerns within the military about operational protocols.
“It’s hard to comprehend,” said one military official who requested anonymity. “This should not have happened, especially after the accidental bombing of a civilian area by an Air Force KF-16 on March 6.”
The March incident, which occurred in Pocheon and resulted in 52 injuries including 38 civilians, had already prompted Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Young-su to issue a formal apology and pledge operational reforms.
In response to this latest incident, the Air Force temporarily grounded most aircraft except those on emergency standby. Flight operations are scheduled to resume Tuesday afternoon, including the Freedom Flag joint Korea-U.S. aerial exercise that began on Apr. 17 and will run through May 2. The Air Force said approximately 6 percent of scheduled flights for the exercise were canceled due to the safety stand-down.
Starting Tuesday, the Air Force will launch a “100-day commitment to flight safety and trust restoration” project aimed at preventing similar incidents. The initiative follows in-depth reviews of vulnerabilities in flight preparations and systemwide safety inspections.
“We sincerely apologize for causing concern again,” said an Air Force official. “We will establish and enforce effective preventive measures to ensure this type of incident does not recur.”
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