A military aircraft crashed at around 1:50 p.m. on the 29th in a hillside area of Donghae-myeon, Nam-gu, Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The crash site is approximately 500 meters away from Pohang Airport in a straight line.
Military authorities noted, "The aircraft, which took off from Pohang base for training at around 1:43 p.m. that day, crashed near the base for reasons that remain unknown."
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the crashed aircraft is a Navy P-3C maritime patrol aircraft. It is estimated that four people were on board at the time of the accident. The status of the passengers has yet to be confirmed.
A wildfire broke out in the hillside area as the aircraft crashed. The flames are spreading to nearby regions, and firefighting authorities are conducting suppression efforts.
A patrol aircraft refers to a military aircraft that observes enemy movements. It is equipped with devices such as infrared, acoustic, and magnetic detectors. The P-3C is a patrol aircraft capable of detecting submarines, and the Navy has been operating 16 units since its introduction in 1995. Lockheed Martin has been producing the early model P-3A since the early 1960s, and the P-3C is an upgraded version.