Air Force jet misfire due to error

[Anchor]

This is breaking news on the Air Force fighter jet misfire incident.

The Air Force has revealed that there were three opportunities to verify the coordinates from training preparation to bomb deployment, but all were missed.

Reporter Jo Hye-jin explains how the pilot's mistake led to the incident.

[Report]

Two pilots prepared for the flight the evening before the training.

The pilot of aircraft number one called out 14 coordinates for the flight path and target, which the pilot of aircraft number two entered into the mission computer.

Each coordinate consists of 7 digits for latitude and 8 digits for longitude, totaling 210 numbers and letters for the 14 locations, but one latitude number for the 'target' coordinate was incorrectly entered.

It remains unclear whether the error was made while reading the coordinates aloud or during manual input, as statements differ.

They should have printed out the coordinates for verification, but this step was skipped due to a printer malfunction.

On the day of the incident, the coordinates from the mission computer were transferred to the fighter jet's storage device, but because the second jet's device malfunctioned, it required the pilot to manually input the coordinates correctly from the cockpit.

Aircraft number one had incorrect coordinates, while aircraft number two had the correct coordinates. Different coordinates were inputted, but they missed this and took off.

Approximately 20 minutes later, both fighter jets entered the designated holding area.

As the distance increased due to the incorrect coordinates, the fighter jets accelerated.

Since it was a simultaneous drop training, aircraft number two was focused on maintaining formation and did not realize they had deviated from the target.

Although the lead pilot sensed that the terrain differed from previous training sessions, he could not confirm the target visually. Nevertheless, to meet the scheduled drop time, he reported “Target confirmed” and released the bombs.

[Kim Kwon-hee/Air Force Public Affairs Officer: "The target coordinates were entered incorrectly, and the pilot should have rechecked at least three times, but did not do so."]

The eight bombs fell 10 km south of the target.

Initially, the military stated this distance was 8 km.

This is KBS News, Jo Hye-jin reporting.