RoKAF loses Phantom II

A Dae Han Min Guk Gong Gun (Republic of Korea Air Force, RoKAF) F-4E Phantom II crashed into the Yellow Sea, on 12 August 2022, following a security mission, with its two pilots having escaped safely.

The decades-old jet slammed into the sea nine kilometres south of Jeongok Port in Hwaseong, some forty kilometres south of Seoul, at 00:20 hours local time.

It was on the way back to its base in Suwon, which has one RF-4E squadron, 153 Fighter Squadron.

After discovering their jet engine was on fire, the two pilots shifted course toward a coastal area to forestall any civilian damage and then escaped, the Air Force said.

The pilots were in good condition after having been transported to an Air Force medical centre in Cheongju, 112 kilometres south of Seoul.

The armed service suspended flight operations of all aircraft except for surveillance and emergency assets. It plans to ground all F-4Es pending a probe into the incident.

The crash came as the military has been working on a plan to decommission the aging fleets of F-4s and F-5s, first introduced here in the late 1970s, in 2024 and in the late 2020s, respectively.

Photo just illustrative