Air Force Bomb Misses Target  Hits Factory

Osan Air Base, South Korea  An A-10 Thunderbolt II attack plane assigned to the 25th Fighter Wing Squadron apparently missed its target while training. Instead of dropping its BDU-33 practice bomb onto the training range, the bomb was dropped on a factory. The bomb went though the roof of the factory and a bathroom on the second floor before landing in an empty office on the first floor of the building. Fortunately no one was injured during the incident.

The mishap occurred in the town of Eumseong located in the northern Chungcheong Province. Officials responding to the incident sent an EOD team to investigate and clear the scene. Using the lot numbers from the bomb and the time of the accident, authorities were able to identify which aircraft and corresponding pilot was responsible for the mix up. An investigation is underway to determine exactly how the bomb ended up missing the range.

The good news is that the aircraft was only carrying a BDU-33 and not a high explosive filled bomb. The BDU-33 does contains a small titanium tetrachloride spotting charge and is the most common bomb used by the Air Force during training exercises. A picture of a BDU 33 round is shown below.