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Lt. Park In-chul, who was killed when the KF-16 jet fighter he was piloting crashed into the West Sea on Friday.
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A KF-16 jet fighter crashed into the West Sea on Friday, presumably killing its pilot Capt. Park In-chul (27) of the 52nd Air Force Academy class. ParkĄ¯s father, an Air Force pilot himself, was also killed in a jet fighter accident in 1984. Maj. Park Myung-ryul, a graduate of the 26th Air Force Academy class, was killed when an F-4E Phantom jet fighter he was piloting during the Korea-U.S. joint Team Spirit military exercise crashed. Park junior was only five years old at the time.
In an interview last year, Park junior said, "When I was young, I felt bitter against my father watching the hard life my mother had. On his behalf, I wanted to work as an ordinary salaryman to make my mother happy." But that changed to a desire to become an Air Force pilot himself. Despite opposition from his family, he was, on his second try, admitted to the Korea Air Force Academy in 2000. He began flying practice on finishing his four-year cadet course in 2004. Completing all flying courses a year and eight months later, he was finally awarded the honorary title "Red Muffler" and wore a red muffler around his neck at the graduation ceremony for the advanced flying program in February last year.
At the graduation ceremony, Park pledged to fulfill his duty to defend the skies of the fatherland which his father was called to defend before him. Park junior lives on in the memory of fellow pilots and cadets. On Memorial Day, June 6 this year, accompanied by his mother and his college-age younger sister, he visited his father's tomb at Seoul National Cemetery. There, he said, "I think of my father often while carrying out my duties. I will become a good pilot who will serve the country and may die for it." His mother fainted on hearing that her son's jet had crashed and is now reportedly in hospital.
Investigating the cause of the KF-16D jet fighter's crash, military authorities said the same day there appeared to be nothing wrong with the aircraft judging by communications exchanged before the crash. They said it was highly likely the pilot mistook the sea for the sky, a relatively common symptom of disorientation among pilots. Some fragments of the aircraft were found in the West Sea on Saturday, and the Air Force presumes the plane crashed into the sea and both pilots on board were killed. Capt. Park was in the front seat, with Lt. Col. Lee Kyu-jin (38), a graduate of the 40th class of the Air Force Academy, in the back seat. Air Force authorities decided to hold a funeral on Monday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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