On the morning of December 29, local time, a Jeju Air passenger plane that was landing at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam Province, South Korea, deviated from the runway, collided with a fence, and exploded and caught fire. The passenger plane involved carried a total of 181 people, including 175 passengers and 6 flight attendants. It was eventually confirmed that only two flight attendants survived the accident, and the remaining 179 people died. Except for the tail part of the passenger plane, the rest was completely burned and could not be identified.
South Korea has entered a seven-day national mourning period from now until 24:00 on January 4.
Surviving flight attendant at the tail end: What happened? Why am I here?
The two surviving flight attendants have been transferred to the hospital for treatment, and their lives are not in danger. According to Yonhap News Agency, when one of the male survivors was asked by the doctor where he felt uncomfortable, he did not answer. Instead, he asked "What happened?" and "Why did I come here?" He seemed to have forgotten the situation at the time of the accident.
According to reports, the survivor suffered a fractured shoulder and head injury, but was conscious, had a normal pulse, and could walk. He said he fastened his seatbelt before arriving and thought the plane had landed, but had no memory of it afterwards.
Another female flight attendant who was rescued said, "There was smoke from the engine on one side of the plane and then it exploded."
It is reported that the two survivors were in the emergency exit area at the tail of the plane when the incident occurred. After the collision, the tail fell off and the two were rescued.
Two black boxes have been found and details released 6 minutes before the crash
On the 29th, according to the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Accident Investigation Committee has recovered two "black boxes" (flight recorders) on board the aircraft and plans to analyze the black boxes and release relevant information.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said a lengthy investigation will be needed to find out the complex causes of the crash. A commercial airliner crash investigation can take as short as six months or even as long as several years.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism stated that the runway of Muan Airport is 2,800 meters long and the accident was not caused by insufficient runway length. The airport runway will be closed until 5:00 on January 1, 2025. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also released a detailed timeline of the incident.
Accident timeline: (Korea local time)
△Around 8:57: The Muan International Airport tower issued a bird collision warning to the passenger plane.
△Around 8:58: The captain issued a "Mayday" emergency distress signal.
△Around 9:00: The plane attempted to land on the runway.
△Around 9:03: The plane landed with its fuselage without the landing gear opened, and eventually hit the airport fence and exploded and caught fire.
It remains to be further investigated why the landing gear did not open normally. Sources in South Korea pointed out that the plane was hit by a flock of birds during landing, causing the right engine of the plane to catch fire.
Yonhap News Agency reported that when the plane was preparing to land on Runway 1 of Muan Airport, it found that it could not land normally and went around. The accident occurred during its second attempt to "belly land".
No abnormality reported when passenger plane took off in Thailand
A reporter from the main station learned that the Thai Immigration Bureau has obtained the information of the two Thai female passengers on the plane involved and is waiting for Jeju Air to officially confirm the list of victims.
In addition, the person in charge of the Thai Airport confirmed that when the passenger plane took off from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand, there were no abnormal conditions reported on either the aircraft or the runway.
The passenger plane involved took off from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 1:30 a.m. on the 29th, Bangkok time, and was originally scheduled to arrive at Muan Airport at 8:30 a.m. on the 29th, Seoul time.
The acting president declared the incident a special disaster area
On the 29th, Choi Sang-mok, the deputy prime minister of the economy and minister of strategy and finance who acts as the president of South Korea, declared Muan, where the aviation accident occurred, as a special disaster area and formulated countermeasures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
The airline involved sets up a special accident response team
It was confirmed that the model of the flight where the accident occurred was a 737-800 of the American Boeing Company. It was manufactured in August 2009. The aircraft was 15 years old and operated by Jeju Air, a relatively large low-cost airline in South Korea. The airline operates international routes to many countries and regions including Southeast Asia.
On the 29th, Jeju Air representative director Kim Lip-bae held a press conference to express his deep condolences for the victims of the passenger plane collision and fire that day. "No matter what the cause of the accident, we all bear heavy responsibility." The company has formed a special accident response team and will make every effort to deal with the aftermath and support the families of the victims. Jeju Air also said that it had purchased US$1 billion in liability insurance for the accident aircraft before the incident.
Boeing: We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding the accident
The American Boeing Company posted on social media on December 29 that it was in contact with Jeju Air regarding the accident and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
The Boeing 737-800 is a single-aisle narrow-body aircraft that is mostly used for short- and medium-range flights and is widely used by civil aviation around the world.