In December 2021, two South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets collided in midair during a training mission. Both crews made it safely back to base, though the planes were damaged.
On Wednesday, the South Korean government explained what had led to the crash: One of the pilots had been taking pictures with his phone, and a crew member on the other plane had been taking a video.
For one pilot, it was the last flight with his unit, the government’s Board of Audit and Inspection said in a report. During a pre-mission briefing, he told his colleagues that he planned to take photos to commemorate it, the board said.
As the planes returned to base, that pilot — the wingman, flying the second plane, behind the lead pilot — began snapping photos with his personal phone, according to the report. After the lead pilot offered to take photos, too, the wingman asked the other crew member on the lead plane to take a video of the whole scene.
Then, to make a better video, he suddenly pulled his jet up and flipped it over.
The maneuver brought the planes dangerously close together. Both pilots tried to avoid a collision, the lead pilot going into a sharp descent while the wingman pulled nearly straight up.
But it wasn’t enough: The lead pilot’s left wing clipped the wingman’s stabilator, a part of the tail. (The board’s report did not say where the collision took place, but local news outlets said the unit was based in Daegu, South Korea.)
Repairing the damage cost nearly $600,000. The air force originally demanded that the wingman pay the amount in full. He objected and, in 2023, asked the audit board to rule on the dispute.
The audit board, which did not release the name of either pilot, ordered the wingman — who has since left the military — to pay one-tenth of the bill. Its report did not say whether the other pilot had faced disciplinary action.
The board ruled that the air force was partly responsible for the crash, because it had failed to properly regulate pilots’ use of cameras during flights.
“Those who were involved in this case stated that this was not the only flight during which photos were taken,” it said.
