A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok to South Korea, with 181 people on board, crashed during landing on Sunday, leaving 179 dead and only two survivors rescued from the wreckage.
Officials said a Boeing 737-800, operated by low-cost carrier Jeju Air, was warned of a bird strike by the control tower during its first landing attempt at Muan airport, after departing from Bangkok around 9:00 am (0000 GMT).
Moments later, the pilot declared a “mayday” and tried to land again. Footage captured the plane attempting a belly landing, its landing gear still retracted.
Dramatic footage shows the plane skidding along the runway, trailing smoke, before crashing into a wall at the end and bursting into flames.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew members on board were killed in the crash. The passengers, aged three to 78, were all Korean apart from two Thais, authorities said.
Rescue workers rescued two survivors, flight attendants aged 25 and 33, from the wreckage.
What caused the accident?
Investigations have begun, with officials focusing on a potential bird strike and adverse weather as possible causes.
“It really has to be a series of catastrophic events that led to such a high loss of life,” aviation consultant Philip Butterworth-Hayes told AFP.
“Crash protection systems on board are extremely robust,” he said, describing the disaster as “the most serious incident I’ve seen” in recent years.
When asked whether the runway might be too short, one official said this was likely not a factor.
“The runway is 2,800 metres long,” or 9,200 feet, “and similar-sized aircraft have been operating on it without issues,” the official said.
Both black boxes — the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder — have been recovered, deputy transport minister Joo Jong-wan said.
What is a bird strike?
A bird strike — a collision between a bird and an aircraft in flight — can be hazardous to aircraft. Jets can lose power if birds are sucked into their air intakes, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency.
Bird strikes have caused a number of fatal accidents globally.
“We’re looking at substantial birds hitting an engine, and that is, as we know, very rare,” said Butterworth-Hayes.
He mentioned the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” incident in 2009, when a US Airways Airbus A320 was forced to ditch in New York’s Hudson River after a bird strike damaged both of its engines. All aboard managed to escape.
Hundreds of firefighters, emergency responders, and military personnel were deployed to the Muan airport area, with the acting president declaring it a special disaster zone. Meanwhile, family members, many in tears, waited on the airport’s first floor.
What is government’s response?
The accident occurred with South Korea in the throes of a political crisis that began when then-president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on December 3, days before being impeached.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok, on his third day in office, convened an emergency meeting with cabinet members Sunday and visited the crash scene.
With AFP inputs
