South Korea Plane Crash, 179 feared dead among 181
On Sunday, 29 December a Jeju Air flight coming from Bangkok crashed at South Korea’s Muan Airport. According to the news agency AP, the flight was carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members, totaling 181 people.
- Rescue teams have recovered 151 bodies so far, and 2 people have been rescued alive. The remaining 28 passengers are feared dead.
South Korea Plane Crash
Incident Timing and Cause
The crash occurred at 5:37 AM IST (9:07 AM local time). While attempting to land at Muan International Airport, a malfunction in the landing gear was detected, preventing the wheels from deploying.
- The pilot then conducted an emergency belly landing, causing the plane’s body to skid directly on the runway. The aircraft slid into the airport’s boundary wall, resulting in a massive explosion and the plane catching fire.
All Flights Suspended at the Airport
Following the crash, operations at Muan Airport were halted, and all local and international flights were canceled. Reuters reported that the control tower had issued a collision alert to the plane.
Second Attempt at Landing Led to the Crash
The crashed Jeju Airline plane was a Boeing 737-800 model. The aircraft made two attempts to land. On the first attempt, the landing gear failed to deploy, forcing the pilot to abort. After circling the airport once, the pilot decided to perform a belly landing on the second attempt.
Bird Strike Suspected
Some media reports claim that a bird collided with the plane’s wing, leading to the malfunction of the landing gear, which ultimately failed to deploy.
Fire Took 43 Minutes to Extinguish, Plane Completely Burnt
Firefighting officials at Muan Airport told Reuters that the fire was brought under control, but it took 43 minutes to extinguish completely, leaving the plane entirely burnt.
Rescue Operations Ongoing, Passengers Trapped in Rear Section
Rescue operations at the crash site are still ongoing. Most of the passengers were seated in the rear section of the plane, and efforts are being made to evacuate them from there.
Passenger Nationality
Among the 181 passengers on board, 173 were South Korean nationals, and 2 were from Thailand. Media reports indicate that the two survivors are members of the flight crew.
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