At least 85 people were killed when a Jeju Airlines airplane veered off the runway and erupted into a fireball as it slammed into a concrete wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, Yonhap reported, after its landing gear malfunctioned following what aviation authorities say was a likely bird strike.
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
South Korean broadcaster MBC News has released footage of the Jeju Air Flight 2216 crash. The footage reveals that none of the aircraft’s landing gear was deployed at the time of impact: https://t.co/41fmWgZ1NY pic.twitter.com/3xRYPshKjH
— GMI (@Global_Mil_Info) December 29, 2024
The crash occurred shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, yet another unfortunate Boeing 737 aircraft (an 800, not a Max), was carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members to Muan International Airport, in the country’s south from the Thai capital Bangkok.
A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew members skidded off the runway and crashed into a fence at Muan International Airport in South Korea this morning.
The Boeing 737-800 erupted into flames shortly after the collision.
📷: Social media
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) December 29, 2024
At least 33 bodies have been recovered but that number is not final, a fire official told Reuters.
Two people were found alive and rescue operations were still under way, a Muan fire official said. The official and the transport ministry could not confirm the reports of 28 dead. Yonhap said three people had been rescued. Authorities were working to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told Reuters.
The passengers included two Thai nationals, and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, according to the transportation ministry.
Jeju Air, the airplane’s operator, was seeking details of the accident, including its casualties and cause, an airline spokesperson said.
South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was named interim leader of the country on Friday after the previous acting president was impeached amid an ongoing political crisis, ordered all-out rescue efforts, his office said. His chief of staff convened an emergency meeting.
The incident is suspected to have been caused by a landing gear malfunction following a bird strike, according to the local fire department.
South Korean broadcaster MBC News has released footage purportedly capturing a bird strike on Jeju Air Flight 2216 shortly before its crash: https://t.co/41fmWgZ1NY pic.twitter.com/OpJd6oW0Nb
— GMI (@Global_Mil_Info) December 29, 2024
The Korean transport ministry said it was investigating the crash. The airline and the fire department were not immediately available for comment.
The fatal crash takes place just days after a Dec. 25 crash involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane, killing dozens.
All within the span of 3 days…
This is a dark time for the aviation industry. pic.twitter.com/Wppd6iPuRc
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) December 29, 2024
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