A U.S. Air Force F-16 that went down off South Korea’s west coast last year crashed due to engine failure during a training flight, according to a newly released Seventh Air Force report. 

The jet, from the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan, took off on January 31, 2024, but lost power about 40 minutes later while refueling in midair.

The pilot attempted multiple restarts before ejecting over the Yellow Sea, where he was rescued about an hour later. The aircraft was never recovered.

Investigators said they could not pinpoint the defective part without wreckage but assessed engine failure as the cause, estimating damages at $25.8 million.

It was the third F-16 crash in nine months involving U.S. forces in Korea, with previous incidents traced to electrical faults and navigation system failures.

All three pilots survived, but the spate of accidents raised safety concerns over one of the U.S. military’s most widely deployed fighter jets.