Air Force Concealed Midair Collision Between Trainer Jets

[Anchor]

It has been confirmed that an accident involving a midair collision between trainer aircraft also occurred at the Air Force's 3rd Flying Training Wing, where a drinking gathering took place. Two months ago, two KT-1 trainer aircraft made emergency landings after colliding in midair. The Air Force has reportedly kept quiet internally about the accident, which could have led to casualties.

Defense reporter Kim Tae-hoon has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

On the morning of September 1, a KT-1 trainer jet belonging to the Air Force's 3rd Flying Training Wing conducted a flight training drill simulating an engine shutdown in the skies near Sacheon Air Base in South Gyeongsang Province.

At the same time, another KT-1 approached the base while circling to land.

Without knowing each other's positions, the distance between the two aircraft narrowed, resulting in a midair collision where the wing of one aircraft struck the fuselage of the other.

Fortunately, both aircraft managed to make emergency landings, resulting in no casualties.

However, the wings and fuselages of both trainer jets were heavily damaged.

The Air Force determined that the damage was repairable for continued operation, repaired the aircraft involved, and redeployed them to the 3rd Flying Training Wing, it has been confirmed.

Although the Air Force reported the KT-1 collision to the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and compiled an accident investigation report, it has not notified the media even two months after the incident.

The KT-1 trainer is an aircraft model requiring special attention to flight safety, particularly after four service members died in a midair collision in April 2022, yet the Air Force reportedly did not share the accident response report with all of its units.

Amid continuous accidents involving fighter and transport aircraft since an accidental bombing incident by a KF-16 fighter jet in Pocheon in March last year, some within the Air Force point out that the service hushed up this collision to avoid criticism over lax discipline.

The Air Force explained, "We did not notify the media because the aircraft landed safely in an emergency and there were no casualties."

(Video by Jeong Seong-hoon | Graphics by Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.