After the crash of a Jeju Air Boeing this Sunday in the southwest of South Korea, many questions are being asked. Here is what we know, by cross-checking several local sources.
With only two survivors and 179 confirmed deaths out of the 181 people on board, it is the deadliest air accident in South Korean history. Jeju Air flight 2216, coming from Bangkok (Thailand), crashed this Sunday when landing at Muan airport (South Korea), about 290 kilometers south of the capital Seoul, at 9:03 a.m. local time ( 00:03 GMT), according to the Ministry of Territories.
What happened?
Shortly before the crash, the aircraft had issued a distress message after a first landing attempt, during which the control tower had warned the crew that the aircraft had been struck by birds. A video relayed by the South Korean channel MBC shows the plane landing with smoke escaping from the engines, visibly without landing gear. The aircraft deviated from the runway before ending up engulfed in flames.
Who were the passengers on the plane?
On board the aircraft were 175 travelers, including two Thai nationals, as well as six crew members. By late afternoon local time, 179 deaths had been confirmed while two crew members were extracted shortly after the crash. According to the specialized site Flightradar, the plane, a Boeing 737-8AS from the South Korean low-cost company Jeju Air, entered service in 2009.
What about relief operations?
Emergency services sent dozens of vehicles and firefighters to the scene. Images broadcast by local television channels showed the plane burned in its entirety except for the tail and the bodies wrapped in blue shrouds being evacuated on stretchers. Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok chaired an emergency government meeting and visited the site today.
What caused the crash?
“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a collision with birds combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced after an investigation,” said Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Muan fire station, during a press briefing. The first elements reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported a “landing gear malfunction”. According to the same source, the aircraft landed on its belly before bursting into flames when it hit a fence at the end of the runway.
What about the danger of collisions with birds?
Bird collisions, which can cause significant damage to an engine or the windshield, are the cause of many accidents. In most cases, the collision occurs during takeoff or landing, when the engines are running at full speed. Material damage ranges from a simple deformation of the leading edge of the wing to partial or total destruction of the reactor.
One of the most famous cases dates back to January 2009, when the pilot of a US Airways Airbus A320 with 155 occupants managed to calmly land on the Hudson River in New York after such a collision.
And OF previous air disasters in the country?
This is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, founded in 2005. On August 12, 2007, a Bombardier Q400 from its fleet carrying 74 people went off its runway in strong winds at Busan-Gimhae Airport. (south-east), causing around ten minor injuries.
The deadliest disaster attributed to a South Korean company remains that of a Korean Air Boeing 747, connecting New York to Seoul via Anchorage (Alaska), which was shot down by a Soviet fighter over the Sea of Japan. , causing the death of 246 passengers and 23 crew members on September 1, 1983. However, experts believe that the South Korean air transport sector is generally reliable.
