Daijiworld Media Network - Seoul

Seoul, Apr 14: South Korea’s Defence Ministry on Monday said two Air Force unit commanders have been booked for professional negligence after a rare and serious error during a live-fire drill last month saw eight bombs mistakenly dropped on a civilian town.

On March 6, two KF-16 fighter jets released eight MK-82 bombs outside the designated training zone in Pocheon, about 40 km north of Seoul. The incident injured 52 people, including 38 civilians, according to city authorities.

The two pilots involved, who allegedly entered incorrect target coordinates into the mission planning system, have also been booked and suspended from flight duty for a year. Officials say the pilots did not realise their mistake during the operation and dropped the bombs without visually verifying the target.

An interim probe by the ministry found the incident was caused by pilot error, poor oversight, and failure to follow proper procedures. Unlike other participants in the same drill, the two pilots skipped preparatory flights along the actual mission route.

The ministry plans to refer both the pilots and the commanders to military prosecution and seek disciplinary action against nine additional officials who were slow to report the incident or failed to take proper action. These include seven Air Force officers and two from the joint chiefs of staff.

The Air Force has already dismissed the group commander and squadron commander involved. A warning is also expected to be issued against the Air Force's operations commander for his role in the oversight failure.

Despite conflicting testimonies from the pilots on whether the coordinates were misheard or misread, officials say both will be held accountable, Yonhap news agency reported.