More than 120 passengers were killed when a Jeju Air passenger plane with 181 people onboard crashed at Muan International Airport. The Boeing 737-8AS veered off the runway and exploded, likely due to a bird strike and adverse weather. Apparently, the front landing gear of the plane failed to deploy.
The video footage shared by the local broadcasters showed the Jeju Air plane, identified by Flight Radar as a Boeing 737-8AS, landing on the runway at Muan Airport. Smoke was seen coming from the engines before the aircraft was completely engulfed in flames.
What caused the crash?
Initial reports suggest that the front landing gear of the plane was damaged due to a bird strike and adverse weather conditions, leading to the crash-landing attempt.
“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation,” Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing.
It was revealed by the South Korean transport Ministry that the control tower had sent a warning about a bird strike to the plane before the crash occurred.
According to the Muan International Airport authorities, the plane was attempting an emergency landing due to a landing gear malfunction. The crash occurred after an earlier landing attempt had failed.
The authorities further explained that the plane continued down the runway until it collided with a wall at the airport’s outer edge after the aircraft appeared unable to reduce it’s speed adequately. The plane then burst into flames claiming the lives of at least 120 passengers.
This crash is the deadliest aviation accident involving a South Korean plane since 1997, when a Korean Air passenger plane crashed into a hill in Guam, a United States territory in the western Pacific, claiming lives of 229 out of 254 people on board.
This incident is also Jeju Air’s first fatal crash . Jeju Air is a low-cost South Korean airline founded in 2005 that operates flights to several Asian countries. The airline issued a brief statement apologizing for the accident.
“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to the accident. We sincerely apologize for causing concern, ” the airline said in a statement posted on its social media channels.
“I pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in the accident and offer my deepest apologies to the bereaved families,” Jeju Air chief executive, Kim E-bae, said in a statement.