Seoul:

The US aviation giant Boeing on Sunday extended its condolences to the families of victims killed in the Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea’s Muan. A Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operated by Jeju Air, flying from Bangkok to South Korea with 181 people on board crashed on landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday, leaving all but two people plucked from the wreckage feared dead.

“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said in a statement posted to its X account.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the company added. 

pic.twitter.com/TIrIUBw4RB

— The Boeing Company (@Boeing) December 29, 2024

The US aerospace company has seen a turbulent time in the past few years, with a series of embarrassing safety blunders. Boeing, earlier this year, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States for its role in two fatal 737 Max crashes. However, the Boeing 737-800 has been described reliable workhorse by experts, with the aircraft having an extremely strong safety record.

South Korea’s aviation industry has a solid safety record and the crash was the first fatal accident for Jeju Air. The crash is being dubbed as the worst civil aviation disaster in South Korea. 

What We Know Of The Crash So Far

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft was reportedly warned of a bird strike by the control tower during its first attempt at landing shortly after 9:00 am (midnight GMT). However, minutes later, the pilot issued a “mayday” warning, and it tried to land again, with a video showing it attempting a “belly landing” without its landing gear activated.

Dramatic video showed the plane skidding along the runway with smoke trailing out before it hit a wall at the end and burst into flames.

Investigations have been launched, but according to a report by AFP, officials suspect the accident could have been caused by a bird strike and adverse weather conditions.

Questions were also raised if the accident happened due to the runway being too short, as the video showed the plane coming off the tarmac and hitting a wall. But, an official told AFP that it was likely not a factor. “The runway is 2,800 metres long, and similar-sized aircraft have been operating on it without issues,” they said.

There were a total of 175 passengers and six crew members onboard. Rescue workers plucked out two survivors — both flight attendants — from the wreckage. As of mid-afternoon, 124 people have been confirmed dead.

Officials said there was “little chance of survival,” for others, adding that the plane was “almost completely destroyed,” during the crash.

Meanwhile, a rescue operation is underway with hundreds of firefighters and other emergency responders — including military — deployed to the area. 

The accident occurred with South Korea in the throes of a political crisis, with its third president in a month. Acting President Choi Sang-mok, on his third day in office, convened an emergency meeting with cabinet members to discuss the rescue operation and response and visited the crash scene. He also designated the site a special disaster zone.

Seoul:

The Jeju Air plane crash at South Korea’s Muan, in which 179 of the 181 people on board are feared dead, came at a time when the Asian country’s government is in the middle of a full-blown political crisis. South Korea’s current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached on December 14, following a short-lived martial law declaration that plunged the country into its worst political chaos in decades.

However, the leadership crisis in Seoul didn’t end there. Country’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who stepped into Yoon’s shoes as acting President of South Korea, was also stripped of his powers by parliament on Friday.

That means the country’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok assumed the position of acting president while the country’s top Constitutional Court decided the fate of Yoon and Han. Two days into the new job, acting President Choi now faces South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster.

New President In The Middle Of Chaos

Acting President Choi has instructed emergency responders to mobilize “all available” equipment and personnel to the plane crash site at the Muan International Airport, He also reached the site where the Jeju Air flight crash-landed earlier in the day and declared it a special disaster zone.

The President has vowed a full investigation into what caused the deadly crash. “We will concentrate all resources on recovery and support for the victims. All necessary resources are being mobilized, and a special disaster zone has been declared,” Choi said in a statement.

A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed on arrival Sunday, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, leaving all but two feared dead.

A bird strike and adverse weather conditions were cited by authorities as likely causes of the crash that flung passengers out of the plane and left it “almost completely destroyed”, according to fire officials.

Video showed the Jeju Air plane from Bangkok landing on its belly at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames. Only two people were rescued, both flight attendants and 120 people were confirmed dead by mid-afternoon, the fire department said in a statement.

Uncertain Political Landscape In South Korea

The impeachment of Prime Minister Han, the acting president since Mr Yoon was impeached on December 14 for declaring martial law on December 3, has pushed South Korea’s once-vibrant democratic success story into uncharted territory. South Korea is Asia’s fourth-largest economy after China, Japan and India.

Yoon, who is currently suspended while the country’s top court decides his fate, faces impeachment and criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

If his impeachment is upheld by the court, which is required to deliver its ruling within six months of the impeachment, a by-election must be held within 60 days of the court’s decision. The move will also make Mr Yoon the shortest-serving president in South Korea’s democratic history.

Seoul, South Korea:

A somber atmosphere filled with grief loomed over South Korea on Sunday morning as a plane carrying 181 people crashed and burst into flames, likely killing at least 179 of them. Inconsolable families and friends of the passengers hurriedly gathered at the Muan International Airport where the incident took place, looking for their loved ones. One such family of a passenger reportedly said they received a text from the person onboard, minutes before the crash, saying that a bird was stuck to the flight’s wing.

Another message pinged on their phone saying, “Should I say my last words?”

Many locals saw the flames in the jet’s engine and heard multiple explosions during the incident, reported South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“I saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when I noticed a flash of light…Then there was a loud bang followed by smoke in the air, and then I heard a series of explosions,” an eyewitness who was taking a stroll around 4.5 kilometers away from the airport, said.

Another witness recalled hearing the sound of “metal scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash, the local media reported. The man, then, saw the plane ascending after failing to make a landing, heard an explosion, and saw black smoke billowing into the sky – all within a couple of seconds.

The Jeju Air plane, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, was flying from Bangkok to Muan. It attempted to land shortly after 9 am but ended up crashing into a fence. Visuals showed the twin-engine plane skidding off the runway, crashing, and immediately bursting into flames. Within seconds, huge black smoke rose into the sky.

The only thing that gave away about the crashed flight was its charred tail.

In the videos, it appears the aircraft attempted a ‘belly landing’ (without its landing gear fully extended).

Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors that led to the deadly crash, officials said.

Also Read | Bird Hit, Gear Glitch, Belly Landing: Chain Of Events In South Korea Crash

More than two hours after the accident, smoke was still pouring out of the tail section and search efforts were underway for scattered pieces of the aircraft. Passengers’ clothes, luggage, and water bottles – most of them stained with blood – were scattered all over the site.

According to local media, two people, likely to be crew members, have been rescued so far.

While the oldest person on the flight was a 78-year-old man, the youngest was a three-year-old baby, reported South Korea’s News1 agency.

Reports also suggested that there were two Thai passengers onboard.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in a post on X, wrote, “I would like to express my condolences to the families of the victims and injured. I have ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urgently investigate whether there are any Thai passengers on this plane and what the current situation is. I have ordered immediate assistance. If there are Thai passengers, please contact their families to inform them of the progress and have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs report the situation at all times.”

Authorities have switched from rescue to recovery operations and because of the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, reported news agency Reuters citing Muan fire chief.

Jeju Air issues statement

Jeju Air issued a statement ‘sincerely apologising’ for the crash.

“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement on its website.

The airline’s CEO Kim E-Bae, during a televised address, said that while the exact cause of the crash was still unknown, the plane had no record of accidents and there were no early signs of malfunction. “The airline will cooperate with investigators and make supporting the bereaved its top priority,” he said.

All domestic and international flights at the Muan airport have been reportedly cancelled.

New Delhi:

The Jeju Air plane crash at South Korea’s Muan, the death count of which has climbed to 85 and may go up further, took place moments after the Boeing 737-800 aircraft attempted a belly landing. Videos of the moments before the crash show the plane dragging on its underbody before crashing into a wall. The aircraft, flying from Bangkok in Thailand to Muan, had 181 onboard. The national fire agency has said they have rescued two people and all others are feared dead, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency has reported.

Visuals capturing the plane crash show the aircraft dragging on its belly before it rams a wall and goes up in flames. Pilots attempt belly landing when during a landing gear malfunction. A Yonhap report quoting airport authorities said the pilot tried a crash landing after a regular landing attempt failed. This could have been the result of a bird strike. “Witnesses cited signs that the plane’s landing gear, such as tires, remained unactivated, possibly sending it to attempt a crash landing, with a bird collision presumed to be the cause of the malfunction,” the report said.

Social media users, including former pilots, have raised several questions. One of them is the plane’s high speed when landing on a runway less than 3 km long. Others have asked why firefighters are not in position near the runway if it was a planned belly landing. There is another question, the aircraft trajectory shows the plane did not circle before attempting a belly landing, considered a last-ditch manoeuvre. Planes hit by technical malfunction usually circle the airport as the pilots try to figure out a solution. In this case, however, that was not done.

Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, told the media that bad weather contributed to the tragedy. “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,” he said.

Low-cost airline Jeju Air apologised for the crash and said it would all it could to help. “We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on social media.

South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok said, “I believe no words of consolation would suffice for the bereaved families who have suffered this tragedy. The entire government is working closely together to manage the aftermath of the accident, dedicating all available resources, while making every effort to ensure thorough support for the bereaved families”