A P-3 maritime patrol aircraft belonging to the Navy crashed on a hillside in Pohang on the 29th, resulting in the deaths of all crew members on board.
The Navy stated through a text announcement that they had confirmed all four bodies of the maritime patrol aircraft crew and were currently in the process of recovery. The bodies are expected to be transported to Pohang Hospital.
The crash of the aircraft caused a fire in nearby forests, which spread into a wildfire. The fire authorities deployed two helicopters and around 40 personnel to extinguish the fire. A Navy official noted, "There are no confirmed civilian casualties to date."
According to the Navy, the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft accident occurred around 1:49 p.m. It took off from the Pohang base in North Gyeongsang Province around 1:43 p.m. for training purposes and crashed nearby six minutes later for unknown reasons.
The Navy has established an accident response headquarters, chaired by the deputy chief of staff, to investigate the cause of the accident. Additionally, they have suspended flights of the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft. The Navy reportedly operates a total of 16 P-3 series patrol aircraft.
This accident occurred ahead of a replacement with a new maritime patrol aircraft (P-8 Poseidon). A maritime patrol aircraft refers to a surveillance aircraft operated by the military to prepare for attacks from the sea. The P-3 maritime patrol aircraft has been operated by the Navy since its introduction in 1995, for over 30 years. This is the first accident involving the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft while it has been in operation.
The P-3 maritime patrol aircraft involved in this incident was developed by the U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The maritime patrol aircraft performs missions such as anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, and maritime disaster rescue.
Following a series of military aircraft accidents this year, there are increasing voices raising concerns about military discipline issues. In March, two Air Force KF-16s mistakenly dropped eight bombs in a civilian area of Pocheon during a joint live-fire training exercise between South Korea and the U.S., and last month, a KA-1 airborne command attack aircraft dropped two machine guns and 500 rounds of ammunition over the skies of Gangwon Province.