Overview

• The P-3 maritime patrol plane took off from Pohang air base at 1:43 p.m. on May 29 and crashed six minutes later into a nearby mountain.
• All four crew members aboard—two commissioned officers and two non-commissioned officers—were killed and their bodies recovered by evening.
• The Navy has launched a special investigative unit to determine why the aircraft went down and has ruled out civilian casualties.
• All 16 of the service’s P-3 maritime patrol aircraft have been grounded until the inquiry concludes.
• The P-3C “submarine killer” serves anti-submarine warfare roles and this marks the first crash of South Korea’s P-3 fleet.