179 Killed As South Korean Jet Crashes While Landing At Airport
Just two of the 181 people on board a South Korean airliner survived when the passenger jet crash-landed at Muan International Airport in the country’s southwest on Sunday morning, local time.
Multiple media reports indicated that the aircraft skidded down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.
The two survivors — both crew members, one male and one female — were rescued from the plane’s tail section, the only part of the aircraft that retained some of its shape, according to emergency services. The ages of those on board ranged from 3 to 78.
This incident marks the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997 when a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 crashed in the Guam jungle, killing 228 people.
Footage of the crash-landing showed the Jeju Air flight sliding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment, and erupting into a fireball.
Videos revealed that neither the back nor front landing gear was visible as smoke poured from the back of the sliding aircraft.
Both local fire officials and aviation experts suspect a landing gear malfunction. Lee Jeong-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, suggested the cause might be “the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather.”
However, the crash investigation could take years, and experts have warned against speculation while authorities face pressure for answers from the passengers’ loved ones.
A team of US federal investigators will assist in the probe, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Both black boxes from the airliner have been recovered, providing flight data and voice recordings that will be crucial for aviation safety investigators piecing together what happened.
The National Fire Agency confirmed that 179 people – 85 women, 84 men, and 10 others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable – were killed. The fire that engulfed the plane has been extinguished.
Rob McBride, reporting from Seoul for Al Jazeera, said the accident is now considered the worst in history on South Korean soil. Only 65 victims have been identified so far due to the intense fire.
The South Korean government has declared seven days of national mourning over the plane crash.
The plane, a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet, was reported to be carrying two Thai passengers, with the rest believed to be South Koreans.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed deep condolences to the families of the crash victims and ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate and provide immediate assistance.
Photos shared by local media showed thick clouds of black smoke emanating from the plane and its tail section engulfed in flames near the runway.
Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, issued an apology, saying it would “do everything in our power in response to this accident.”
This crash was the first fatal accident for Jeju Air, although, in August 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by the airline came off the runway at Busan Gimhae airport due to strong winds, causing a dozen injuries.
The youngest victim in this recent disaster was a three-year-old boy, and five of those killed were under 10. Five members of the same family spanning three generations also perished.
Officials speculate that birds may have struck an engine before the crash. The Boeing 737-800 jet, Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan International Airport, was making a second attempt at a crash landing after its landing gear failed to open. Witnesses reported hearing a “loud explosion” and seeing sparks in the plane’s engine before it crashed.
The plane veered off the runway and crashed into a wall, bursting into flames. Experts have pointed to the concrete wall as a critical factor in the high number of casualties.
The airport’s control tower had warned the plane about the possibility of a bird strike and allowed the pilot to land in a different area.
A passenger texted a relative to report a bird stuck in the wing of the plane. Their final message was said to have been: “Should I say my last words?” The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash.
Rescue workers have now retrieved the flight data recorder from the plane’s black box and are still searching for the cockpit voice recording device.
The two crew members who survived are in hospital and talking. One of them, Ms. Ku, a female flight attendant in her 20s, described seeing smoke coming out of one of the engines before it exploded.
Most of the passengers were holidaymakers returning from a five-day Christmas package tour to Bangkok.
Further photos shared by local media showed smoke and flames engulfing much of the plane, while witnesses described the smell of aviation fuel and blood at the crash site.
A massive emergency response was deployed, with 32 fire trucks, several helicopters, and about 1,560 firefighters, police officers, soldiers, and other officials sent to the site. The rescue teams are still searching for bodies scattered by the impact.
The plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail section recognizable among the wreckage. Authorities have confirmed that the fire has been extinguished, and the incident occurred at 9:03 am local time on Sunday (shortly after midnight GMT).
Jeju Air, formed in 2005, is South Korea’s largest low-cost airline, with more than 12.3 million passengers last year and over 40 aircraft, most of them Boeing 737-800s.
The country is well-regarded in safety terms, holding a Category 1 rating in the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment Program.
Jeju Air also received an “A” safety grade in the latest annual review of domestic airlines by South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
Authorities are now attempting to confirm the identities of victims using the passenger manifest. So far, 88 people have been identified. Among the passengers were 173 South Koreans and two Thai nationals.
All domestic and international flights from Muan International Airport have been cancelled. The last large-scale air disaster in South Korea was in 2002, when an Air China aircraft crashed near Busan, killing 129 people.
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