South Korea issues apology over selfie-linked fighter jet collision

South Korea’s air force issued an apology on April 23 for a mid-air collision in 2021 involving two fighter jets, one day after auditors concluded that pilots were taking selfies and recording video during the flight and were held responsible for the incident, according to Reuters.

“We sincerely apologise to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman said in a press briefing, adding that one of the pilots involved ⁠had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military.

The apology came after a report released on April 22 by the state Board of Audit and Inspection, which determined that unplanned manoeuvres linked to personal filming led to the collision between two F-15K jets during a formation flight near Daegu in December 2021.

According to auditors, a wingman pilot tried to capture images to ‌mark ⁠his final flight with the unit, sharply climbing and banking the aircraft without clearance in order to improve the camera angle, while another pilot was filming video from the lead jet.

As the jets closed in distance, both crews attempted evasive action, ⁠but the wingman’s tail struck the lead aircraft’s wing, resulting in around 880 million won (about $600,000) in damage. No injuries were reported.

The audit board assigned primary responsibility to the wingman pilot ⁠but also criticised the air force for weak oversight of in-flight filming practices at the time, ordering the pilot to repay ⁠around 10% of the repair costs.

The Air Force stated it is now implementing stricter flight safety regulations aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.

By Jeyhun Aghazada