On January 11, a fighter jet crashed on a mountain in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do.

The plane that crashed was carrying Major Sim Jeong-min, a pilot of the Air Force's 10th Fighter Wing.

He is 29 years old.

Although he was able to make an emergency escape, he held onto the control stick to the end to avoid the private house, and eventually died at the scene.



According to the Air Force, there were two hair-thick holes in the fuel conduit of the engine on the right side of the F-5 fighter jet that had crashed, and fuel leaked through the holes caught fire and the fighter crashed.

Experts unanimously pointed to the aging of the F-5, a fighter jet, as the root cause of the accident.



The F-5 fighter is an obsolete model that has been in operation for over 50 years since the introduction of domestically sequentially from the 1960s.

The Air Force originally set the service life of the F-5 fighter at 31 years, but it has been extended three times and is still in use.

Currently, F-5 pilots are riding older aircraft than they are.



Since 2000, 14 pilots have died in the crash of an F-5 fighter jet.

Old fighter jets can cost not only the lives of pilots but also ordinary citizens.

Domestic air bases where F-5s are deployed are located in downtown areas such as Suwon and Gangneung.



Many experts say the aging fighter F-5 should be retired as soon as possible.

It is analyzed that even if the F-5 is immediately retired, the air force will not be weakened.

As a result of the news story coverage, it was confirmed that the Air Force plans to re-promote the FX 2nd project, a next-generation fighter acquisition project, to replace outdated fighters, and additionally secure the light attack aircraft FA-50.



This week's SBS <News Story> is about diagnosing the aging problem of F-5 fighters and seeking alternatives.