Tragic plane crash kills 179 in South Korea's worst air disaster

(CLO) With 179 people killed, the Jeju Airlines plane crash at Muan International Airport on Sunday became the most serious aviation disaster in South Korea.

Local media video showed the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 skidding down the runway without visible landing gear before hitting a wall and exploding.

"Only the tail part still retains some shape, but the rest of (the plane) looks almost unrecognizable," Muan Police Chief Lee Jung-hyun told a press conference.

The scene of a plane crash at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea on December 29, 2024. (Photo courtesy of AP, not for re-release)

South Korea's worst air disaster

Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the burning tail section of the plane, while all 175 passengers and four crew members on the flight carrying 181 people were confirmed dead, authorities said.

It was the worst accident for any South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people, according to South Korean transport ministry data. The previous worst accident on South Korean soil was an Air China crash that killed 129 people in 2002.

Hours after the crash, family members gathered at the airport arrivals area, some crying and hugging. Officials said many of the victims appeared to be residents of nearby areas returning from vacation. Ambulances lined up outside to take away bodies, and authorities said a temporary morgue had been set up.

Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors in the crash. Yonhap news agency quoted airport authorities as saying such a collision could have caused the landing gear to malfunction.

Another Boeing Incident

The model involved in the crash, a Boeing 737-800, is one of the world's most-flown passenger jets. It was developed before the MAX variant implicated in Boeing's recent safety crisis.

The plane was manufactured in 2009, South Korea's transport ministry said. The two CFM56-7B26 engines were manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France's Safran.

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae apologized for the accident and bowed deeply at a televised press conference. He said the plane had no accident record and showed no initial signs of trouble.

No unusual conditions were reported when the plane departed Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, said Kerati Kijmanawat, director of Thailand's Airports Authority.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Transport, two of the passengers were Thai nationals and the rest were believed to be South Korean.

Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said there were two Thai women on board, one aged 22 and the other aged 45. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sent condolences to the families of the dead and injured, saying she had instructed the Foreign Ministry to provide assistance.

This was the first fatal flight for Jeju Air, a low-cost carrier founded in 2005 and the country's third-largest airline by passenger numbers.

The accident came just three weeks after Jeju Air began flights from Muan to Bangkok and other Asian cities on December 8. Muan International Airport is one of South Korea's smallest but has become much more crowded in recent years.

Bui Huy (according to Yonhap, Reuters, Korea Times)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/vu-tai-nan-may-bay-jeju-la-tham-hoa-hang-khong-toi-te-nhat-tai-han-quoc-post328101.html