Dangers of the Terminal Environment Seen Once Again as Turboprop Trainer Aircraft Collide Soon After Takeoff

The South Korean Air Force saw tragedy today, when two pairs of trainee pilots and their instructors collided in midair resulting in the deaths of all those aboard despite their ejection. 

The Aircraft were a pair of a KT-1 aircraft, a domestically produced, turboprop advanced trainer. They had taken off from a base near the southeastern city of Sacheon and flew for about 5 minutes until the aircraft collided. Both sets of pilots ejected but unfortunately perished regardless. South Korean authorities said that trainees were first lieutenants being trained by outside civilian instructors. 

The air force issued a statement that confirmed the deaths of the pilots following the erroneous assumption that they had survived after news of the ejection began to spread. "Despite their attempts at an emergency escape," said an air force spokesman. "All of the two student pilots and two flight instructors aboard the two planes died." An investigation has begun, with considerable interest in exactly how such an incident took place. The crash site was set upon by a group of troops, police, and firefighters to search for survivors and assess for possible damage to civilians living in the area. The region is home to agricultural operations, luckily sparse enough that no other casualties were taken as a result of the incident. One unlucky local lost his car to the wreckage, seen outside a farmhouse destroyed by falling wreckage. South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered his condolences to the pilots' families, promising that the aviation community would get to the bottom of the issue and do the utmost to prevent any future occurrence. 

FMI: www.airforce.mil.kr