A United States Air Force (USAF) Lockheed Martin F-16 "Fighting Falcon" military fighter plane crashed today, Wednesday 31 January, into the sea off the western coast of South Korea. Except for the pilot, who managed to escape eject from the aircraft before impact with the body of water. It was reported by the South Korean news agency "Yonhap".

According to a first reconstruction of the accident, the 8th Fighter Wing aircraft was engaged in a training mission over the waters of the Korean peninsula. Suddenly, for reasons yet to be ascertained, the crash occurred around 8:41 local time off the coast of the city of Gunsan, in the West. The pilot ejected before impact and was recovered about 50 minutes later, the US Air Force reports.

The aircraft took off from the US military air base in Gunsan. The US military has started an investigation into the incident, said Colonel Matthew Gaetke, commander of the 8th Fighter Wing. This is the second plane crash involving a US F-16 military aircraft in just over a month, the third in less than a year, also taking place in the Asian country.