Serious plane crash: Plane crashes on landing - 179 dead!

By Johannes Neudecker and Marc Kalpidis

Muan Gun (South Korea) - A passenger plane coming from Thailand and carrying 181 passengers crashed on landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

A passenger plane crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
A passenger plane crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea.  © YONHAP/dpa

As the official news agency Yonhap reported, citing the fire department, there were probably only two survivors in the accident this Sunday morning (local time). This would make it one of the worst plane crashes in years.

According to Yonhap, a total of 173 South Korean and two Thai passengers and six crew members were on board the plane.

The Boeing 737-8AS of the South Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air, which had arrived from the Thai capital Bangkok, overshot the runway at shortly after 9 a.m. (local time) and crashed into a catch fence behind the runway.

A video shown on South Korean television showed the plane skidding across the runway without its landing gear deployed, crashing at the end of the runway and bursting into flames.

Suspicions about the cause of the plane accident

Dozens of firefighters and rescue workers are on the scene.
Dozens of firefighters and rescue workers are on the scene.  © Lee Young-ju/Newsis/AP/dpa

Yonhap reported, citing the authorities, that a bird strike - i.e. a collision with one or more birds - could have led to the landing gear malfunction.

According to the report, the pilots made an initial landing attempt, but aborted it and then attempted a crash landing. However, they apparently did not manage to reduce the speed of the plane touching down with the fuselage sufficiently before reaching the end of the runway.

Pictures taken from a distance initially showed huge dark clouds of smoke over the scene of the accident. Photos published later showed burning wreckage and charred debris from the destroyed plane as well as fire engines from the fire department.

Dozens of rescue workers were deployed at the scene of the accident, extinguishing the flames and initiating the rescue of surviving passengers. At the same time, investigations into the cause of the accident were ongoing.

Airline apologizes

The satellite image from Google Earth shows Muan Airport.
The satellite image from Google Earth shows Muan Airport.  © Google Earth/dpa

All other flights to and from Muan were canceled. The airport, which was opened in 2007 after ten years of construction, is located in the south-western province of Jeolla - just under 300 kilometers from the capital Seoul. Western airlines do not fly to the airport.

Jeju Air published a letter of apology on the Internet. "We deeply apologize to everyone affected by the incident at Muan Airport," the airline wrote on its website. The company regrets the suffering caused and will do everything in its power to clear up the accident.

President Choi Sang Mok, who is only acting as executive in the midst of the ongoing state crisis in South Korea, ordered comprehensive rescue measures and went to the scene of the accident.