South Korea’s navy is investigating the fatal crash of a Lockheed P-3CK Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
The aircraft crashed during the early afternoon of 29 May near the city of Pohang, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency, quoting the navy.
All four crew were killed when the aircraft crashed into a mountain during the early afternoon but there were no casualties on the ground. Weather conditions appear to have been clear at the time of the accident.
The aircraft is based on South Korea’s southern Jeju island but was at Pohang to practice take-offs and landings. This is the first known crash of a South Korean P-3.
Prior to the crash, the South Korean navy operated 16 P-3s, of which eight are in the P-3C-III+ standard and eight in the more advanced P-3CK standard.
The P-3CKs were previously P-3Bs that the navy bought from the USA and upgraded with the help of Korea Aerospace Industries and L-3 Communications. The P-3CKs have surveillance equipment including multipurpose radar, high-definition electro-optical and infrared cameras and digital acoustic analysis equipment.
South Korea is in the process of preparing six Boeing P-8A Poseidons for service entry.
