Muan, Dec 30: A catastrophic crash involving a Jeju Air flight has left 179 people dead, including all passengers and most of the crew. The Boeing 737-800, which had been returning from Bangkok, Thailand, was carrying 175 passengers—mostly holidaymakers—and six crew members when it crash-landed at Muan International Airport in the country’s south on Sunday.
Only two survivors, both cabin crew members, were pulled from the wreckage after the aircraft skidded off the runway, crashed into a wall, and exploded into flames shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT).
The flight, numbered 2216, had encountered difficulties approaching the airport, and the pilot, with over 6,800 hours of flight experience, had previously aborted the first landing attempt due to bird interference. Moments before the crash, a mayday call was issued, and the plane was cleared to land in the opposite direction.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with experts considering factors such as bird strikes and bad weather. However, aviation specialists have raised doubts as to whether these conditions alone could fully explain the deadly crash. Questions have arisen about the plane’s speed, the failure to deploy the landing gear, and the lack of flaps during the approach.
Gregory Alegi, an aviation journalist, noted, “At this point there are a lot more questions than we have answers,” referring to the unusual conditions surrounding the crash, including the plane’s speed and undetermined technical failures.
Footage from the crash site shows the plane landing without its wheels extended, overshooting the runway, and colliding with the airport’s perimeter wall before bursting into flames. One passenger reportedly messaged a relative about a bird lodged in the plane’s wing, though officials have not confirmed if a bird strike was a factor.
The passengers included 173 South Koreans and two Thai nationals, aged between 3 and 78. Among the victims was 49-year-old Jongluk Doungmanee, who had been visiting family in Thailand before returning to South Korea. Her cousin, Pornphichaya Chalermsin, expressed disbelief over the tragedy, saying, “I never thought such news would involve Thai people. Watching the video footage made me feel even more distressed.”
This crash is the deadliest aviation disaster in South Korea since the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which killed over 200 people. It also marks the first fatal accident for Jeju Air, founded in 2005 as one of the country’s largest low-cost carriers.
In a public statement, Jeju Air expressed its profound apologies for the incident. “We deeply apologise to all those affected by the incident. We will make every effort to resolve the situation,” a company spokesperson said, bowing deeply at a press conference.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was appointed just days before the disaster, visited the crash site and offered condolences to the victims’ families. “I express my deepest condolences to the many victims in the incident. I will do all I can for the injured to quickly recover,” he said.
Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737-800 jet, has confirmed that it is in contact with Jeju Air as authorities continue to investigate the cause of the crash.
