South Korea plane crash: Officials promise full probe of how jet slammed into fence

A passenger plane burst into flames after it skidded off a runway at a South Korean airport and slammed into a concrete fence when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, killing most of the 181 people on board, in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.

The National Fire Agency said rescuers raced to pull people from the Jeju Air passenger plane at the airport in the town of Muan, about 290km south of the capital Seoul. The Transport Ministry said the plane was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 returning from Bangkok and the crash happened at 9.03am (8.03am Perth time).

At least 176 people — 83 women, 82 men and 11 others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable — died in the fire, the fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled two people, both crew members, to safety. Health officials said they were conscious and not in life-threatening condition.

Three people were still missing about nine hours after the incident.

The fire agency deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire. About 1560 firefighters, police officers, soldiers and other officials were also sent to the site, it said. Footage of the crash aired on South Korean television channels showed the Jeju Air plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, apparently with its landing gear still closed, overrunning the runway and striking head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirtsJU of the facility, triggering an explosion.

Other local TV stations aired vision showing thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the plane, which was engulfed in flames.

Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station, told a televised briefing that the plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly remaining recognisable among the wreckage.

Mr Lee said that workers were looking into various possibilities about what caused the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds.

Transport Ministry officials later said their early assessment of communication records show the airport control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in a different area.

The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the plane went past the runway and skidded across a buffer zone before hitting the wall, the officials said. Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan said workers have retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane’s black box, which will be examined by government experts investigating the cause of the crash and fire. Mr Joo said the runway at Muan airport would be closed until Wednesday.

Emergency officials in Muan said the plane’s landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned.

The Transport Ministry said passengers included two Thai nationals.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed condolences to the families of those affected by the accident in a post on social platform X. Ms Paetongtarn said she ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance immediately.

Kerati Kijmanawat, the director of the Airports of Thailand, confirmed in a statement that Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 departed Suvarnabhumi Airport with no reports of abnormal conditions with the aircraft or on the runway.

Jeju Air in a statement expressed its “deep apology” over the crash and said it would do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident”.

At a televised news conference, its president, Kim E-bae, Jeju Air’s president, deeply bowed with other senior company officials as he apologised to bereaved families and said he felt “full responsibility” for the incident. Mr Kim said the company had not identified any mechanical problems with the plane after regular check-ups and he would wait for the results of government investigations of the cause of the incident.

Family members wailed as officials announced the names of some victims at a lounge in the Muan airport.

Boeing said in a statement on X it was in contact with Jeju Air and was ready to support the company in dealing with the crash.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” it said. Boeing said. It’s one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea had a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airline plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people aboard. In 2013, an Asiana Airlines plane crash-landed in San Francisco, killing three and injuring 200.

Sunday’s accident was also one of the worst landing mishaps since a July 2007 crash that killed all 187 people aboard and 12 others on the ground when an Airbus A320 slid off a slick airstrip in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and hit a nearby building, according to data compiled by the Flight Safety Foundation. , a nonprofit group aimed at improving air safety.

In 2010, 158 people died when an Air India Express plane overshot a runway in Mangalore, India, and plunged into a gorge before erupting in flames. according to the safety foundation.

The incident came as South Korea is embroiled in a huge political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment. Last Friday, lawmakers impeached acting President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, leading Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.

Mr Choi ordered officials to employ all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew before he headed to Muan. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, will preside over an emergency meeting between senior presidential staff later on Sunday to discuss the crash.