On the 29th, amid the crash of a naval maritime patrol aircraft in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the pilot reportedly communicated with the control tower until one minute before the crash and did not mention any emergency situation. The navy is continuing its investigation while considering the possibility of an external force causing the crash, including bird strikes or turbulence.
According to the navy on the 30th, the aircraft was conducting takeoff and landing training at the Pohang base. This training, designed to improve the pilot's skills, involves taking off, turning, touching the runway, and then repeating the ascent. Although the aircraft belongs to the 615th Air Squadron of the Navy's Aviation Command in Jeju, it was conducted at the Pohang base due to the high volume of commercial air traffic at Jeju Airport.
The aircraft took off at 1:43 p.m. on the 29th, completed the first training session, and crashed into a nearby mountain around 1:49 p.m. The aircraft communicated with the control tower one minute before the crash at 1:48 p.m., but there was reportedly no mention of any emergency situation. The flight path of the aircraft was the same as usual, and the weather conditions at the Pohang base were said to be favorable, according to the navy.
That morning, the navy retrieved a voice recording device from the crash site that might provide clues to the cause of the accident. However, it has been determined that the aircraft did not have a black box typically found in commercial airliners. The navy plans to analyze this recording device and send the aircraft wreckage to the Navy Aviation Command for a joint accident investigation that includes civilian experts.
The aircraft was scheduled for airframe maintenance by the end of this year. Previously, it underwent maintenance at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) from February 25 to August 23, 2021. Following the incident, the navy is checking for abnormalities in all aircraft, particularly planning special safety inspections for the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.
Meanwhile, the four crew members who died in the accident have been posthumously promoted one rank. The pilot Lieutenant Colonel Park Jin-woo (now promoted rank), co-pilot Major Lee Tae-hoon, tactical operator Sergeant Yoon Dong-kyu, and tactical operator Sergeant Kang Shin-won were deemed to have died in the line of duty after review by the operational casualty review committee. The funeral will be held as a naval ceremony and will take place on June 1 at the Navy Aviation Command, followed by interment at the Daejeon National Cemetery.