The pilot of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 issued a “mayday” distress call minutes before the aircraft crash-landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday, killing 179 people in one of South Korea’s deadliest aviation disasters.
The flight, carrying 181 people from Bangkok to South Korea, was attempting to land when the control tower warned the pilot of a potential bird strike. Shortly afterward, the pilot declared an emergency and attempted a belly landing with the landing gear retracted.
Black Box Recovered
Authorities have recovered the black boxes, including the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, as investigations focus on the bird strike as a possible cause.
“All indicators suggest a catastrophic failure following the bird strike warning,” an official said, noting the importance of further analysis of the black box data.
The Deadly Plane Crash
Video footage showed the aircraft skidding across the runway, trailing smoke, before colliding with a wall and bursting into flames. The crash left the plane almost completely destroyed, flinging debris across the area.
Jeju Air passenger plane with 181 people onboard burst into flames. It skid off runway. Aircraft attempting belly landing i.e. without its landing gear extended.#JejuAir #FlightCrash #muan #muanairport #SouthKorea #planecrash #SouthKoreaPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/vl5U2dY67Z
— Anil Kumar Verma (@AnilKumarVerma_) December 29, 2024
Only two flight attendants, aged 33 and 25, survived the crash and were rescued from the wreckage. Both remain hospitalized with serious injuries but are able to communicate.
The crash killed 175 passengers and four of the six crew members. Most victims were South Korean nationals, including children and elderly passengers, with two Thai citizens also on board.
Distraught family members gathered at the airport terminal on Sunday night, many in tears as they awaited news of their loved ones. Under floodlights, rescue teams worked to lift the burned-out fuselage and recover remains scattered across the crash site.
Jeju Air officials apologized publicly, with senior leaders bowing during a press conference. The airline, a low-cost carrier established in 2005, had no prior fatal accidents.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, visited the crash site after convening an emergency cabinet meeting. He declared a seven-day national mourning period, during which memorial altars will be set up across the country.
Bird strikes, though rare, can have devastating consequences if birds are sucked into engines. Aviation experts compared the crash to previous incidents, including the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson,” when a US Airways flight successfully landed on water after a bird strike.
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