((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
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Video shows plane skidding without landing gear before exploding
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Jeju Air flight carried 181 people from Bangkok
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Two crew members rescued from Boeing 737-800
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Deadliest air accident in South Korea since 1997
(The latest review and comments from the engine manufacturer) by Ju-min Park, Hongji Kim and Hyunsu Yim
At least 174 people were killed in South Korea’s deadliest ever air crash on Sunday, when a jetliner made a belly landing and went off the runway, causing a fireball as it struck a wall at Muan International Airport.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 089590.KS, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew members on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in southern Thailand. country, South Korea’s transport ministry said.
Two crew members were rescued, and authorities suggested the remaining crew members were presumed dead.
The deadliest air accident on South Korean soil is also the most serious involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to the transport ministry.
In a video broadcast by local media, the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 can be seen skidding on the runway without visible landing gear before crashing into the wall in an explosion of flames and debris.
“Only the tail retains some shape, and the rest of (the plane) is almost impossible to recognize,” Mr. Lee told a news briefing.
The two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail of the burning plane, Muan Fire Chief Lee Jung-hyun said at a news conference. They are being treated in hospital for moderate to serious injuries, the head of the local public health center said.
Investigators are looking at bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. Yonhap News Agency cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
Authorities are searching nearby areas for bodies that may have been thrown from the plane, Lee said.
MY LAST WORDS
Hours after the crash, family members gathered in the airport arrivals area, some crying and hugging each other as Red Cross volunteers handed out blankets.
Families screamed and cried loudly as a nurse announced the names of the 22 victims identified by their fingerprints. Papers were distributed to families so that they could enter their contact details.
A parent approached a microphone to ask authorities for more information. “My older brother died and I don’t know what’s happening,” he said. “I don’t know
Another asked journalists not to film. “We are not monkeys in a zoo,” he said. “We are bereaved families
Mortuary vehicles lined up outside to take away the bodies, and authorities said a temporary morgue had been set up.
The crash site smelled of jet fuel and blood, according to Reuters witnesses, and workers in protective suits and masks combed the area while soldiers searched in the bushes.
Authorities worked to save people in the tail of the plane, an airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash.
This crash is the most serious for a South Korean airline since that of Korean Air in Guam in 1997, which left more than 200 dead, according to data from the Ministry of Transport. The most serious accident on South Korean soil was that of Air China, which left 129 dead in 2002.
The control tower issued a bird strike alert and, soon after, the pilots declared a mayday, then the pilots attempted to land, a transport ministry official said.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, News1 reported. The person’s last message was: “Should I say my last words?”
The passengers included two Thai nationals and the others were believed to be South Koreans, according to the transport ministry.
The plane was built in 2009, the transport ministry said.
The two CFM56-7B26 engines were manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace GE.N and France’s Safran SAF.PA, the transport ministry said.
A CFM spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jeju Air Flight 2216. We extend our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those on board”
SOUTH KOREA’S NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT FACES DIFFICULTIES
Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-bae apologized for the accident, bowing deeply during a televised briefing.
He said the plane had never been in an accident and there were no warning signs of a malfunction. The airline will cooperate with investigators and make support for the bereaved its top priority, Mr. Kim said.
No anomalies were reported when the plane left Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, said Kerati Kijmanawat, president of Airports of Thailand.
It is the first fatal flight for Jeju Air, a budget airline founded in 2005 that ranks behind Korean Air Lines 003490.KS and Asiana Airlines in terms of passenger numbers in South Korea.
The accident occurred just three weeks after Jeju Air began operating scheduled flights between Muan and Bangkok and other Asian cities on December 8.
Muan International Airport is one of South Korea’s smallest, but it saw the number of international passengers increase almost 20 times to 310,702 between January and November, compared to the same period in 2022 , according to government data.
Boeing BA.N said in an emailed statement: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to provide our support. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All domestic and international flights at Muan Airport have been canceled, Yonhap reported.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok, named interim leader Friday amid the ongoing political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was putting all its resources into implemented to deal with the accident.
Two Thai women, aged 22 and 45, were on the plane, Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said, adding that details were still being verified.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra offered condolences to the families of the dead and injured in a message posted on X, saying she had instructed the foreign ministry to provide assistance.
The ministry said in a statement that it was in contact with South Korean authorities.
