AIR FORCE FIGHTER JET CRASH

[Anchor Lead]

Back in February, a Korean Air Force fighter jet crashed into the West Sea 13 minutes after takeoff. The Air Force has found that the accident was caused by a technical failure in the jet's engine, which stopped operating because fuel supply had been blocked.

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On February 27, the Korean Air Force fighter jet KF-16D crashed into the West Sea during training. The jet experienced no problems during takeoff, but 13 minutes later its engine stopped working at an altitude of 14,000 feet. Luckily, the two pilots were able to escape from the aircraft unharmed. An investigation conducted by the Air Force over the past three months has revealed that the engine stopped working because fuel supply was blocked in the combustion chamber. The blockage was caused by foreign objects either inside or outside the aircraft. The investigators believe the blockage occurred in one of the three sections: the pipe connected to the fuel pump, inside the fuel pump, or the section connecting to the fuel control unit. However, an Air Force official said identifying the exact cause of the accident was impossible, because most of the engine parts that had been lifted from the depth of 50 meters were damaged.

[Soundbite] CHO SE-YOUNG(LT.COL., AIR FORCE) : "We will continue to identify the cause in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force and the jet's manufacturer through diverse experiments and simulation tests."

The accident prompted the Air Force to conduct close inspections of fuel systems in all of its KF-16 jets. The inspected fighter jets will be deployed in phases starting May 31.