[사진 제공: 연합뉴스]
It is known that an Air Force F-5E fighter pilot who crashed during takeoff had time to escape, but did not let go of the control stick until the end.
According to the Air Force on the 13th, the accident investigation revealed that the late 29-year-old Major Sim Jeong-min, 29, fought without letting go of the control stick until the last moment to prevent damage to the private house when the aircraft crashed on the 11th.
According to the Air Force, the F-5E piloted by the deceased took off from Suwon base in Gyeonggi Province on the 11th, and while ascending, the engine fire warning lights on the left and right of the aircraft turned on and the aircraft descended sharply.
Major Shim prepared an emergency evacuation procedure by declaring ‘escape’ twice in communication with the control tower at the time.
However, he did not escape and crashed down with the aircraft.
The crash site was only 100 meters from a village with several houses.
The Air Force determined that Major Sim Shim was holding the control stick until the end, turning his nose toward the hill to prevent the fighter from going down toward the private house.
In particular, there was about 10 seconds of time before Major Sim declared an emergency escape and fell.
The Air Force explained that 10 seconds is not enough time for the pilot to activate the emergency escape device to escape.
Some even raised questions about whether the emergency escape device did not work properly.
However, the Air Force explained that the fighter’s emergency escape device was a new one that was replaced in 2013, and there appears to be no abnormality.
In the end, if I had just activated the emergency escape device, I could have escaped immediately, but it didn’t work.
This situation was also confirmed through the flight recorder of the fighter.
At that time, the Air Force said that the moment the aircraft was descending, the situation in which Major Sim held the control stick until the last moment and was breathing heavily was recorded in the flight recorder, the Air Force said.
Honest and late Major Sim Jeong-min [공군 제공]
“I want to live as a fighter pilot forever”
Major Sim, who has just started a family and is in their first year of marriage.
The deceased often said, “I want to live as a fighter pilot forever.”
Commissioned in 2016 with the 64th construction aircraft, Major Sim has been operating the F-5, a lightweight fighter, as the main model for five years.
Since he was a student pilot, he devoted himself to flight research and completed flight training with excellent grades, and his skills as a fighter pilot were outstanding.
In November last year, I received a commendation for meritorious people in the national training.
Colleagues mourned the deceased, saying, “He was an exemplary soldier who loved the sky and was proud to be in the Air Force.”
The Air Force promoted the deceased from Captain to Major.
The funeral ceremony for Major Sim will be held at 9 am tomorrow (14th) at the 10th Fighter Wing of the Air Force, which is his unit.
The funeral ceremony will be held as the commander of the unit in the presence of the bereaved family, fellow pilots and unit soldiers, and the remains will be buried at the Daejeon National Cemetery.
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