Muan County, South Korea (DT) – A tragic incident unfolded at Muan International Airport on Sunday when an airliner veered off the runway, crashing into a wall and erupting into a fireball.
According to the national fire agency, at least 179 people lost their lives in the disaster. Two individuals, presumed to be crew members, were rescued, the agency confirmed.
The 181 people were aboard the Boeing 737-800 plane that had departed from Bangkok at 1:30 a.m. It was scheduled to arrive in Muan at around 8:30 a.m. The passengers were all Koreans, except for two Thai nationals.
Of those on board, 82 were men and 93 were women, ranging in age from as young as three to 78 years old. Many were in their 40s, 50s and 60s.
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Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from Bangkok, Thailand, with 175 passengers and six crew members on board, was attempting to land at the airport in southern South Korea shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), according to South Korea’s transport ministry.
Two crew members survived and were being treated for injuries. The deadliest air accident on South Korean soil was also the worst involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to the transport ministry.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in local media video skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into navigation equipment and a wall in an explosion of flames and debris.
Investigators are considering bird strikes and weather conditions as potential causes of the crash, according to Lee, a spokesperson for the investigation team. Yonhap news agency reported that airport authorities suspect a bird strike may have led to the malfunction of the aircraft’s landing gear.
The tragedy marks the deadliest crash for any South Korean airline since the 1997 Korean Air disaster in Guam, which claimed over 200 lives, based on transportation ministry data. The most severe crash on South Korean soil before this incident occurred in 2002, when an Air China flight went down, killing 129 people.
Aviation experts highlighted that the preliminary findings raise more questions than answers. Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, remarked, “A bird strike is not unusual, and issues with an undercarriage are not uncommon. However, bird strikes alone typically do not result in the complete loss of an aircraft.”
Under international aviation regulations, South Korea will spearhead a civil investigation into the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States, where the aircraft was designed and manufactured, will also be involved in the inquiry.
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