((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 plane carried 181 people from Bangkok
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Two crew members were rescued alive, firefighters say
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The plane was a Boeing 737-800, according to the airline
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Deadliest air accident in South Korea since 1997
(Added latest report in title, paragraph 1, and manager's comments on distress call in paragraphs 15 and 16) by Hongji Kim, Ju-min Park and Hyunsu Yim
At least 124 people were killed when a wheelless airliner landed, veered off the runway and burst into flames when it slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport, said the national fire agency.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 089590.KS, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the country's southern airport, the southern ministry said. Korean Transport.
It was the deadliest air accident involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to ministry data.
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 a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. Other photos show smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
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. The fire was extinguished from 1 p.m., Mr. Lee said.
“Only the tail of the plane retained some shape, and the rest of (the plane) is almost impossible to recognize,” he added.
Authorities have shifted from rescue operations to recovery operations and, due to the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies that may have been thrown by the plane, Lee added.
Both crew members are being treated in hospital for moderate to serious injuries, the head of the local public health center said.
MY LAST WORDS
Hours after the accident, morgue vehicles were lining up to take away the bodies, and authorities said a temporary morgue had been set up.
The crash site smelled of aviation fuel and blood, according to Reuters witnesses, and workers in protective suits and masks combed the area while soldiers searched the bushes.
Yonhap News Agency cited a fire official as saying most of the 175 passengers and six crew members were presumed dead.
An airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash that authorities had been working to rescue people in the tail of the plane.
This accident is the most serious experienced by a South Korean airline since the Korean Air crash in Guam in 1997, which left more than 200 dead, according to data from the Ministry of Transportation.
Investigators are looking at bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Mr Lee said. Yonhap cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
The control tower issued a bird strike advisory and soon after the pilots issued a distress call, a transport ministry official said, without specifying whether the plane reported hitting birds.
About a minute after the distress call, the plane made its ill-fated landing attempt, the official added.
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 Boeing 737-800, operated by Jeju Air, was built in 2009, the transport ministry said.
JEJU AIR SAYS THE BEREAVED ARE A TOP PRIORITY
Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-bae apologized for the accident, bowing deeply during a televised briefing.
He said the cause of the crash was still unknown, 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.
Founded in 2005, Jeju Air is a low-cost airline with international routes to Japan, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as many domestic flights.
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, appointed Friday to lead the country amid a political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was using all its resources to face the disaster.
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.
