Embedded GPS/INS Failure and Pilot Disorientation Led to 2023 F-16C Mishap In South Korea | Aviation

A detailed look at the accident and lessons learned from the December 2023 U.S. F-16 crash near Kunsan AB.

On Dec. 11, 2023, at around 08:42 local time, a pilot assigned to the 35th Fighter Squadron of the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea, ejected without injury from the F-16CM aircraft tail number 88-0479, the number 3 in a formation of four F-16s flying as SOMAEK 11 – 14.

The aircraft, radio callsign SOMAEK 13, assigned to the 80th Fighter Generation Squadron (FGS), crashed into the Yellow Sea. approximately 81 nautical miles west of Kunsan Air Base, resulting in its total destruction. The mishap led to the loss of a U.S. Air Force asset valued at $28,259,045.00.

According to the Accident Investigation Board report, the crash was caused by critical failures in the jet’s primary flight and navigation systems: at approximately 08:37 local time, while flying through clouds in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), the pilot lost the use of the primary instrument that indicates the aircraft’s position relative to the horizon, known as the attitude indicator. This instrument relies on data from an Embedded GPS/INS system (EGI), which failed during the flight…