S. Korean F-15K fighter jet crashes in East Sea

A South Korean F-15K fighter jet, which went missing during a solo training flight Wednesday night, was found to have crashed in the East Sea, the Defense Ministry and the Air Force said Thursday.

"One F-15K jet, which left a Daegu air base at 7:45 p.m.,

suddenly disappeared from the Air Force radar while carrying out a nighttime mission at 8:20 p.m.," the ministry and Air Force said in a statement.

Some wrecks of the ill-fated fighter, including a cylinder-shaped missile projectile marked by "Mark 25," were found in the sea off Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, during a search operation by the Navy, said the ministry and the Air Force, adding that the two pilots were still missing.

The projectile measuring 40 centimeters in length and 10 centimeters in diameter is believed to be part of the fighter's wreckage, they said.

The Boeing Co.-built F-15K, valued at about 100 billion won (about US$105 million) a unit, is one of the most sophisticated and up-to-date fighter jets ever built. It has been designated as South Korea's next-generation mainstream fighter jet.

Under the so-called F-X program, South Korea is to purchase a total of 40 of the aircraft by the end of 2008 and has so far bought four.

The crashed jet is one of the four.

The missing pilots were identified only by their rank and family name -- Major Kim (36 years old) and Caption Lee (32 years old).

In particular, Kim is known as a veteran pilot with over 1,000 flight hours over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Boeing said it will fully cooperate with the South Korean Air Force in investigations into the cause of the fighter crash.

A Boeing executive, contacted by Yonhap News Agency by telephone, said the company has been notified by the South Korean Air Force of the accident.

He said Boeing will be ready to provide any data and materials necessary for Seoul's upcoming probe into the cause of the crash and plans to dispatch its engineers to South Korea. Seoul, June 8 (Yonhap News)