Fighter fires missile accidentally

An air force fighter fired a missile accidentally at around 10:50 a.m. Monday while taking off from Kunsan base in North Cholla Province. Military authorities are investigating whether neighboring regions suffered damage from the mishap.

According to the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff, the F5E fighter, which was taking off from Kunsan base for a patrol flight over Yongjong Island, fired an AIM9N air-to-air missile while flying at 70 meters. The missile splashed down in the West Sea. The accidental firing is presumed to have occurred when the pilot was retracting the plane's landing gear.

Noting that the missile was designed to head for the ground in the event its infrared detection equipment fails to detect a target or to explode automatically 40 seconds after firing, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that no damage was reported as of Monday afternoon and that the pilot returned to base immediately after the incident.

On the reason for the accident, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that pilot error was impossible as firing a missile is a four-stage process involving target selection, removal of a circuit breaker, loading and firing. Considering the fact that the missile was fired at the moment the landing gear was retracting, it is presumed that there was a circuitry problem in the missile-firing equipment.

The missile was a short-range projectile with a range of 4.5 km. It targets infrared rays emanating from aircraft. When it explodes, it has the potential to inflict serious damage within a 10-meter radius. Planes leaving the runway at Kunsan base head toward the sea and there is tideland 4 km north of the facility.