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Tire damage blamed for KF-16 runway accident: Air Force

Published: 24 Sep. 2025, 19:00

A KF-16 fighter jet armed with MK-82 bombs takes off during a combined exercise at the Seungjin Training Field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 23. [ROK AIR FORCE]

Tire damage was found to have caused an accident in which a KF-16 fighter jet veered off an air base runway earlier this week, the Air Force said Wednesday.

The single-seat fighter jet went off a runway at the air base in the central city of Chungju, North Chungcheong, at around 4:38 p.m. Tuesday, while preparing to take off for training. No casualties were reported.

"The runway excursion was confirmed to have been caused by damage to the nose gear tire, incurred due to a foreign object," the armed service said in a notice to reporters.

The Air Force said the pilot detected the issue and tried to stop the aircraft in accordance with relevant procedures, but the fighter jet ran off the runway as the tire defect caused difficulties in direction control.

All KF-16 aircraft will resume operation starting Thursday as no technical issues of the aircraft were detected, it added.

Yonhap