Another Jeju Air jet experienced landing-gear issue Monday and returned, Yonhap reports
The plane experienced an unidentified landing-gear issue after takeoff and returned to Gimpo airport where it landed safely.
The plane experienced an unidentified landing-gear issue after takeoff and returned to Gimpo airport where it landed safely.
PHOTO: REUTERS
UPDATED Dec 30, 2024
SEOUL - A Jeju Air passenger jet that departed Gimpo Airport in Seoul for Jeju on Dec 30 experienced an unidentified landing-gear issue after takeoff and returned to Gimpo where it landed safely, Yonhap news reported, citing an unnamed source.
This comes after a Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed on arrival on Dec 29, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, leaving all but two dead.
South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Dec 30 ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system once the recovery work on the crash is finished.
He has also declared a seven-day national mourning period until Jan 4.
Officials are investigating what caused the plane to crash-land, including why its landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned and whether the plane had been struck by birds.
UPDATED Dec 30, 2024
SEOUL - A Jeju Air passenger jet that departed Gimpo Airport in Seoul for Jeju on Dec 30 experienced an unidentified landing-gear issue after takeoff and returned to Gimpo where it landed safely, Yonhap news reported, citing an unnamed source.
This comes after a Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed on arrival on Dec 29, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, leaving all but two dead.
South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Dec 30 ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system once the recovery work on the crash is finished.
He has also declared a seven-day national mourning period until Jan 4.
Officials are investigating what caused the plane to crash-land, including why its landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned and whether the plane had been struck by birds.
REUTERS, AFP
South Korea: Day after Muan disaster, another Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 plane suffers landing gear trouble
ByHT News Desk |
Boeing faces crisis after fatal crash in South Korea amid ongoing safety concern
AP |
Dec 30, 2024 05:48 AM IST
The recent crash of a Boeing 737-800 in South Korea adds to a difficult year for the company, which has seen a significant stock decline and safety concerns.
A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price.
Experts question ‘bird strike’ as reason behind South Korea plane crash that killed 179 |
South Korea air crash that killed 179 poses bird-strike mysteryByHT News Desk |
Edited by Shivam Pratap Singh
Dec 30, 2024
According to Reuters, the aircraft departed from Gimpo Airport in Seoul. It experienced a landing-gear issue after takeoff.
Another Jeju Air passenger jet reportedly experienced a landing gear malfunction and had to return to the airport in South Korea on Monday.
Dec 30, 2024
According to Reuters, the aircraft departed from Gimpo Airport in Seoul. It experienced a landing-gear issue after takeoff.
Another Jeju Air passenger jet reportedly experienced a landing gear malfunction and had to return to the airport in South Korea on Monday.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae , left, and other executive members bow in apology to relatives of passengers at the Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea on Sunday.(AP)
According to Reuters, the aircraft departed from Gimpo Airport in Seoul. It experienced a landing-gear issue after takeoff and returned to Gimpo where it landed safely, Reuters quoted unnamed source cited in a South Korean news agency Yonhap report.
Jeju Air Flight 7C101, which departed from Gimpo International Airport for Jeju at 6:37 am, detected an issue with its landing gear shortly after takeoff.
The airline informed the 161 passengers about the mechanical defect caused by the landing gear issue and subsequently returned the flight to Gimpo at 7:25 am.
The issue wasn't exactly named in the report but it comes just a day after one of the deadliest aviation disasters in South Korea that took 179 lives on Sunday at the Muan International Airport, also apparently due to a landing gear malfunction. The said malfunction was said to have been caused by an apparent bird strike.
It was the first crash in Jeju Air’s history. The low cost carrier started its operations in 2005 and is known for its safety.
Monday's incident happened with the same model of the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800. Out of the 41 plane that the carrier operates, 39 are of the same model.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae apologised for the tragedy, bowing deeply before the nation. "Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the CEO," Kim stated in a press conference on Sunday.
The Muan Airport disaster
A Jeju Air flight returning from Bangkok, Thailand attempted to land at the Muan International Airport on Monday with a landing gear malfunction. The aircraft skidded on the runway and crossed the buffer zone to hit the perimeter wall.
The plane immediately caught fire and the local fire officials said that it was completely destroyed in the fire. 181 people were on board the plane at the time of the accident and only two survived the accident.
Authorities have launched an inquiry into the crash, with preliminary investigations suggesting a possible malfunction in the landing gear caused by a bird strike. Investigators are also examining weather conditions as a contributing factor.
"We are currently working to determine the exact cause and details of the situation," a Jeju Air spokesperson said. The airline clarified that the aircraft, in operation for 15 years, had no previous accidents or reported malfunctions.
According to Reuters, the aircraft departed from Gimpo Airport in Seoul. It experienced a landing-gear issue after takeoff and returned to Gimpo where it landed safely, Reuters quoted unnamed source cited in a South Korean news agency Yonhap report.
Jeju Air Flight 7C101, which departed from Gimpo International Airport for Jeju at 6:37 am, detected an issue with its landing gear shortly after takeoff.
The airline informed the 161 passengers about the mechanical defect caused by the landing gear issue and subsequently returned the flight to Gimpo at 7:25 am.
The issue wasn't exactly named in the report but it comes just a day after one of the deadliest aviation disasters in South Korea that took 179 lives on Sunday at the Muan International Airport, also apparently due to a landing gear malfunction. The said malfunction was said to have been caused by an apparent bird strike.
It was the first crash in Jeju Air’s history. The low cost carrier started its operations in 2005 and is known for its safety.
Monday's incident happened with the same model of the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800. Out of the 41 plane that the carrier operates, 39 are of the same model.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae apologised for the tragedy, bowing deeply before the nation. "Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the CEO," Kim stated in a press conference on Sunday.
The Muan Airport disaster
A Jeju Air flight returning from Bangkok, Thailand attempted to land at the Muan International Airport on Monday with a landing gear malfunction. The aircraft skidded on the runway and crossed the buffer zone to hit the perimeter wall.
The plane immediately caught fire and the local fire officials said that it was completely destroyed in the fire. 181 people were on board the plane at the time of the accident and only two survived the accident.
Authorities have launched an inquiry into the crash, with preliminary investigations suggesting a possible malfunction in the landing gear caused by a bird strike. Investigators are also examining weather conditions as a contributing factor.
"We are currently working to determine the exact cause and details of the situation," a Jeju Air spokesperson said. The airline clarified that the aircraft, in operation for 15 years, had no previous accidents or reported malfunctions.
Boeing faces crisis after fatal crash in South Korea amid ongoing safety concern
AP |
Dec 30, 2024 05:48 AM IST
The recent crash of a Boeing 737-800 in South Korea adds to a difficult year for the company, which has seen a significant stock decline and safety concerns.
A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price.
2024 was a depressing year for the massive American airline Boeing. However, all 181 persons on board were killed except for two when one of the company's planes crashed into South Korea on Sunday.(REUTERS)
2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday's incident from the company’s earlier safety problems.
Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane.
The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. "It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’
For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year's repeated troubles have been damaging. The company's stock price is down more than 30% in 2024.
The company's reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes.
Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company's bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years.
In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.
In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.)
But the plea deal was rejected this month by a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor, who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement.
Also read: 236 deaths, 6 horrific crashes: December a dark month for aviation industry
Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety.
2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday's incident from the company’s earlier safety problems.
Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane.
The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. "It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’
For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year's repeated troubles have been damaging. The company's stock price is down more than 30% in 2024.
The company's reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes.
Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company's bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years.
In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.
In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.)
But the plea deal was rejected this month by a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor, who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement.
Also read: 236 deaths, 6 horrific crashes: December a dark month for aviation industry
Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety.
South Korea launches 'comprehensive inspection' of Boeing 737-800 fleet
Maintenance records of key systems such as engines, landing gear to be thoroughly reviewed
Maintenance records of key systems such as engines, landing gear to be thoroughly reviewed
December 30, 2024 |
AFP
Fire and smoke rise from the tail section of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, southwest of Seoul on December 29, 2024.AFP
SEOUL: South Korea has launched a "comprehensive inspection" of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's carriers, an official said Monday, after a fatal Jeju Air crash killed 179 people.
"Maintenance records of key systems such as engines and landing gear will be thoroughly reviewed for 101 aircraft operated by six airlines using the same model as the accident aircraft," said deputy minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan, adding it would run to January 3.
AFP
Fire and smoke rise from the tail section of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, southwest of Seoul on December 29, 2024.AFP
SEOUL: South Korea has launched a "comprehensive inspection" of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's carriers, an official said Monday, after a fatal Jeju Air crash killed 179 people.
"Maintenance records of key systems such as engines and landing gear will be thoroughly reviewed for 101 aircraft operated by six airlines using the same model as the accident aircraft," said deputy minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan, adding it would run to January 3.
South Korea: Expert says concrete wall plane crashed into is 'verging on criminal'
There were just two survivors, while 179 people were killed in the country's worst aviation disaster.
By Tom Parmenter, Sky News correspondent
Monday 30 December 2024
There were just two survivors, while 179 people were killed in the country's worst aviation disaster.
By Tom Parmenter, Sky News correspondent
Monday 30 December 2024
2:10 'I've never seen anything like this'
Aviation experts have said airport authorities in South Korea should face serious questions over the concrete wall that a plane collided with killing 179 people.
Leading air safety expert David Learmount told Sky News the collision with the wall that supported a guidance system at the end of the runway was the "defining moment" of the disaster.
"Not only is there no justification [for it to be there], I think it's verging on criminal to have it there," he said.
Aviation experts have said airport authorities in South Korea should face serious questions over the concrete wall that a plane collided with killing 179 people.
Leading air safety expert David Learmount told Sky News the collision with the wall that supported a guidance system at the end of the runway was the "defining moment" of the disaster.
"Not only is there no justification [for it to be there], I think it's verging on criminal to have it there," he said.
The scene of the crash at Muan Airport. Pic: Reuters
Live updates: South Korea plane crash
Witnesses reported seeing large numbers of birds around the runway shortly before the crash and the control tower had warned the pilot of the possibility of a bird strike. A minute later the plane sent out a mayday signal.
When the plane landed on its second attempt at 9.03am, its landing gear was not deployed.
Live updates: South Korea plane crash
Witnesses reported seeing large numbers of birds around the runway shortly before the crash and the control tower had warned the pilot of the possibility of a bird strike. A minute later the plane sent out a mayday signal.
When the plane landed on its second attempt at 9.03am, its landing gear was not deployed.
0:50 Plane skids down runway before crash
Mr Learmount believes the people on board had a good chance of survival once the pilot had got the plane on to the ground despite travelling at high speed.
"He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground," he said.
Mr Learmount believes the people on board had a good chance of survival once the pilot had got the plane on to the ground despite travelling at high speed.
"He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground," he said.
Satellite images show a wall holding landing system
As it reached the end of the airfield and struck the wall, the plane was almost instantly destroyed.
"That kind of structure should not be there," he said.
"That is awful. That is unbelievably awful."
Muan International Airport opened in 2007 and has become a busy regional hub in the south of the country. It is managed by the state-owned Korea Airports Corporation.
Satellite maps show the concrete structure has stood at the southern end of the runway close to the perimeter fence for many years.
As it reached the end of the airfield and struck the wall, the plane was almost instantly destroyed.
"That kind of structure should not be there," he said.
"That is awful. That is unbelievably awful."
Muan International Airport opened in 2007 and has become a busy regional hub in the south of the country. It is managed by the state-owned Korea Airports Corporation.
Satellite maps show the concrete structure has stood at the southern end of the runway close to the perimeter fence for many years.
An expert says the wall is 'verging on criminal'
Read More:
Everything we know about deadly crash
South Korea's worst aviation disaster
It holds the instrument landing system which helps pilots land at night or when visibility is poor.
At most airports these systems are placed on collapsible structures.
"To have a hard object about 200m or less into the overrun, I've never seen anything like this anywhere ever before," Mr Learmount added.
If the plane had not struck the wall he suggested it would have hit through a perimeter fence, travelled over a road and likely stopped in an adjacent field.
"There was plenty of space for the aircraft to have slowed down, come to a halt," Mr Learmount said.
"And I think everybody would have been alive… the pilots might have suffered some damage going through the security fence or something like that. But I even suspect they might have survived."
Another aviation expert Sally Gethin said she shared concerns about the location of the wall but disagreed that everyone would have survived.
Ms Gethin said it "seemed to be maintaining speed, so even if there had been more space at the end of the runway it could have possibly ended up being catastrophic".
The country's deputy transport minister Joo Jong-wan said the runway's 2,800m length was not a contributing factor in the crash - and maintained that walls at the ends were built to industry standards.
Read More:
Everything we know about deadly crash
South Korea's worst aviation disaster
It holds the instrument landing system which helps pilots land at night or when visibility is poor.
At most airports these systems are placed on collapsible structures.
"To have a hard object about 200m or less into the overrun, I've never seen anything like this anywhere ever before," Mr Learmount added.
If the plane had not struck the wall he suggested it would have hit through a perimeter fence, travelled over a road and likely stopped in an adjacent field.
"There was plenty of space for the aircraft to have slowed down, come to a halt," Mr Learmount said.
"And I think everybody would have been alive… the pilots might have suffered some damage going through the security fence or something like that. But I even suspect they might have survived."
Another aviation expert Sally Gethin said she shared concerns about the location of the wall but disagreed that everyone would have survived.
Ms Gethin said it "seemed to be maintaining speed, so even if there had been more space at the end of the runway it could have possibly ended up being catastrophic".
The country's deputy transport minister Joo Jong-wan said the runway's 2,800m length was not a contributing factor in the crash - and maintained that walls at the ends were built to industry standards.
Bird strikes: A growing threat to aviation safety
2024-12-29
Shafaq News/ Many aviation accidents worldwide, though often minor, are attributed to bird strikes, which may have caused the crash of a passenger plane on Sunday while landing in South Korea from Bangkok.
Since 1988, bird strikes have killed 262 people and destroyed 250 aircraft globally, according to the Wildlife Strike Group of the Australian Aviation Authority. This figure does not include the recent Korean plane crash that killed 179 people.
With the increasing number of flights, such incidents are becoming more frequent. In the United States alone, 291,600 wildlife and civilian aircraft collisions were reported between 1990 and 2023, according to a database created by the Federal Aviation Administration. In France, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation recorded 600 incidents annually during commercial flights. These collisions cause over $1.2 billion in damage to aircraft each year, according to the Australian group.
Bird strikes usually occur during takeoff and landing at low altitudes between 0 and 50 feet (15 meters). Although rare, mid-flight incidents are possible; for instance, a passenger plane in France crashed in 2021 in Seine-et-Marne, near Paris, after colliding with a cormorant.
One of the most famous bird strike incidents occurred in January 2009, when an Airbus A320 operated by US Airways, carrying 155 passengers, successfully landed on the Hudson River in New York after striking a flock of geese.
Serious wildlife collision incidents account for less than 8% of cases and have been declining in recent years, according to the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Most damage is cosmetic, such as scratches to the aircraft's body. However, if a bird or more enters the engine, the damage can be severe, particularly if the compressor is affected, potentially causing engine failure, according to an aviation expert.
The Civil Aviation Authority noted that this could result in safety hazards or impact the continuation of the flight, leading to engine shutdowns, cautious landings, takeoff cancellations, and delays.
Risks increase with the size and number of birds, especially during migration periods, potentially causing flames or fires in the engine. The expert clarified that such incidents rarely disable the aircraft's entire hydraulic and electrical systems, allowing the pilot to control landing gear and use the second engine if the first fails.
To mitigate bird strike risks, airports and aircraft manufacturers have implemented several measures, including testing engine resistance by throwing dead chickens and deploying various airport measures, such as broadcasting distress calls or firing preventive shots into the air to scare birds away.
2024-12-29
Shafaq News/ Many aviation accidents worldwide, though often minor, are attributed to bird strikes, which may have caused the crash of a passenger plane on Sunday while landing in South Korea from Bangkok.
Since 1988, bird strikes have killed 262 people and destroyed 250 aircraft globally, according to the Wildlife Strike Group of the Australian Aviation Authority. This figure does not include the recent Korean plane crash that killed 179 people.
With the increasing number of flights, such incidents are becoming more frequent. In the United States alone, 291,600 wildlife and civilian aircraft collisions were reported between 1990 and 2023, according to a database created by the Federal Aviation Administration. In France, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation recorded 600 incidents annually during commercial flights. These collisions cause over $1.2 billion in damage to aircraft each year, according to the Australian group.
Bird strikes usually occur during takeoff and landing at low altitudes between 0 and 50 feet (15 meters). Although rare, mid-flight incidents are possible; for instance, a passenger plane in France crashed in 2021 in Seine-et-Marne, near Paris, after colliding with a cormorant.
One of the most famous bird strike incidents occurred in January 2009, when an Airbus A320 operated by US Airways, carrying 155 passengers, successfully landed on the Hudson River in New York after striking a flock of geese.
Serious wildlife collision incidents account for less than 8% of cases and have been declining in recent years, according to the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Most damage is cosmetic, such as scratches to the aircraft's body. However, if a bird or more enters the engine, the damage can be severe, particularly if the compressor is affected, potentially causing engine failure, according to an aviation expert.
The Civil Aviation Authority noted that this could result in safety hazards or impact the continuation of the flight, leading to engine shutdowns, cautious landings, takeoff cancellations, and delays.
Risks increase with the size and number of birds, especially during migration periods, potentially causing flames or fires in the engine. The expert clarified that such incidents rarely disable the aircraft's entire hydraulic and electrical systems, allowing the pilot to control landing gear and use the second engine if the first fails.
To mitigate bird strike risks, airports and aircraft manufacturers have implemented several measures, including testing engine resistance by throwing dead chickens and deploying various airport measures, such as broadcasting distress calls or firing preventive shots into the air to scare birds away.
By HT News Desk
Dec 29, 2024
The accident occurred when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from Bangkok, was landing around 9 am (local time).
Civil aviation experts on Sunday questioned the extent of damage a potential bird strike would make in bringing down an entire aircraft.
Dec 29, 2024
The accident occurred when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from Bangkok, was landing around 9 am (local time).
Civil aviation experts on Sunday questioned the extent of damage a potential bird strike would make in bringing down an entire aircraft.
Firefighters and rescue personnel work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 29, 2024.(AFP)
Several reports suggested that a bird strike could have led the aircraft's landing gear to malfunction and crash, killing 179 passengers at South Korea's Muan International Airport.
Videos show the aircraft skidding on the runway without deploying the landing gear. The plane lost control, crashed into a concrete wall, and burst into flames.
“At this point there are a lot more questions than we have answers. Why was the plane going so fast? Why were the flaps not open? Why was the landing gear not down?,” Gregory Alegi, an aviation expert and former teacher at Italy's air force academy, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Also read | ‘What happened? Why am I here?’ asks survivor of South Korean plane crash
Christian Beckert, a flight safety expert and Lufthansa pilot, claimed that a bird strike while in the air is unlikely to have damaged the landing gear. If it had happened when it was down, it would have been hard to raise again, he said.
“It's really, really very rare and very unusual not to lower the gear because there are independent systems where we can lower the gear with an alternate system,” Beckert added.
Top updates on South Korea plane crash
-The two survivors of the tragic Jeju Air plane crash are conscious after being taken to safety by emergency workers. Officials told AFP that they were not in a life-threatening condition.
-Among the victims are 85 women, 84 men and 10 others whose genders weren't immediately identifiable. Only 65 bodies have been identified by the fire department so far. Officials also said that there was “little chance of survival” for passengers who ejected from the aircraft before the tragedy.
Also read | South Korea plane crash | 'No chance of survival?' Victims' kin react with disbelief, wails
-South Korea's deputy transport minister Joo Jong-wan said that the runway's 2,800-metre length did not contribute to the accident. He also stressed that the walls at the airport were built to “industry standards”.
-An official from the department said the pilot attempted to land in the opposite direction after the bird strike warning and mayday declaration. Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Buckinghamshire New University and a former pilot, said the change of plans added to the pilot's workload. “It's a lot of guessing games at this stage”.
-Jeju Air refused to comment on the causes of the accident. Apologising and accepting “full responsibility” for the accident, the company said it hadn't identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular checkups and offered to wait for the results of government investigations.
-Due to the tragedy, the South Korean government declared a period of national mourning until January 4, 2025.
Several reports suggested that a bird strike could have led the aircraft's landing gear to malfunction and crash, killing 179 passengers at South Korea's Muan International Airport.
Videos show the aircraft skidding on the runway without deploying the landing gear. The plane lost control, crashed into a concrete wall, and burst into flames.
“At this point there are a lot more questions than we have answers. Why was the plane going so fast? Why were the flaps not open? Why was the landing gear not down?,” Gregory Alegi, an aviation expert and former teacher at Italy's air force academy, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Also read | ‘What happened? Why am I here?’ asks survivor of South Korean plane crash
Christian Beckert, a flight safety expert and Lufthansa pilot, claimed that a bird strike while in the air is unlikely to have damaged the landing gear. If it had happened when it was down, it would have been hard to raise again, he said.
“It's really, really very rare and very unusual not to lower the gear because there are independent systems where we can lower the gear with an alternate system,” Beckert added.
Top updates on South Korea plane crash
-The two survivors of the tragic Jeju Air plane crash are conscious after being taken to safety by emergency workers. Officials told AFP that they were not in a life-threatening condition.
-Among the victims are 85 women, 84 men and 10 others whose genders weren't immediately identifiable. Only 65 bodies have been identified by the fire department so far. Officials also said that there was “little chance of survival” for passengers who ejected from the aircraft before the tragedy.
Also read | South Korea plane crash | 'No chance of survival?' Victims' kin react with disbelief, wails
-South Korea's deputy transport minister Joo Jong-wan said that the runway's 2,800-metre length did not contribute to the accident. He also stressed that the walls at the airport were built to “industry standards”.
-An official from the department said the pilot attempted to land in the opposite direction after the bird strike warning and mayday declaration. Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Buckinghamshire New University and a former pilot, said the change of plans added to the pilot's workload. “It's a lot of guessing games at this stage”.
-Jeju Air refused to comment on the causes of the accident. Apologising and accepting “full responsibility” for the accident, the company said it hadn't identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular checkups and offered to wait for the results of government investigations.
-Due to the tragedy, the South Korean government declared a period of national mourning until January 4, 2025.
Firefighters and investigators work at the scene of the Jeju Air passenger jet crash in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday. | Chang W. Lee / The New York Times
BLOOMBERG
Investigators probing the cause of the worst civil aviation accident ever in South Korea will focus on a bird strike and the unusual landing-gear failure in the final moments of the fateful flight that left all but two of the 181 occupants of the Boeing Co. 737 jet dead.
The 737-800 aircraft operated by Jeju Air crashed at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning, skidding along the runway on its belly before smashing into a wall, where it exploded into a ball of fire. Only a pair of flight attendants survived.
While the aircraft was almost entirely destroyed, investigators will have valuable data to work with as they reconstruct the event. One vital key will be a readout of the two flight recorders, which were already pulled from the wreckage, though one device is damaged and may need longer to analyze.
Then there’s footage showing the aircraft during approach with one engine apparently flaming out, alongside videos of the plane coming in to the airport and sliding along the runway at high speed, appearing largely intact, before the impact with the embankment.
The accident poses several unusual mysteries, and investigators have said it’s too soon to speculate what may have caused the crash. Midair bird strikes are rare but not entirely uncommon and seldom deadly because aircraft can operate on one engine for some time. Why the landing gear didn’t deploy also remains unclear, or indeed if there’s a link between that malfunction and the bird strike that was discussed between cockpit and control tower just before the landing.
The pilot, considered an experienced captain with close to 7,000 hours of active duty, issued a mayday emergency call minutes after the control tower warned of a bird strike. He aborted his first landing, started a go-around and switched direction on the runway in his second attempt. The control tower granted clearance to land in the opposite direction, and officials said it’s unlikely that the runway length caused the crash.
The Boeing 737 involved in the crash is a predecessor to the latest Max variant. It’s considered a reliable workhorse that passed routine maintenance checks, in a country with deep expertise for aircraft servicing. Around the world, there are more than 4,000 planes of its type in service.
Even if one of the black boxes was damaged in the crash, the data storage units can often be reconstructed to aid the investigation. The fortified devices contain vital statistics and performance metrics of a flight, as well as taped conversations and sounds from the cockpit.
An abnormal flame is seen coming out of the right engine of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft as it prepares to land before crashing and bursting into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday. | YONHAP / VIA AFP-JIJI
Muan’s control tower warned of the risk of a bird strike at 8:57 a.m. local time, about two minutes before the pilot declared an emergency, officials said. The airport had four staffers working to prevent bird strikes at the time of the crash, including one outside the tower.
Birds are an aviation hazard because they can be ingested into the turbine or damage other parts of the plane and cause engine failure. In 2009, an Airbus A320 landed in the Hudson River in New York after a bird strike damaged both engines, in what has become known as the "Miracle on the Hudson” because everyone on board survived.
Jeju Air’s 15-year-old plane, registered HL8088, entered service with the carrier in 2017. It was initially delivered in 2009 to Irish discount airline Ryanair Holdings PLC, according to the Planespotters.net database. The jet was configured to seat as many as 189 passengers. Founded in 2005, Jeju Air operates 42 aircraft, according to its website.
There was no sign of malfunction during regular maintenance checks, Kim E-Bae, chief executive officer of Jeju Air, said at a news briefing. The jet was returning from Bangkok overnight in a 4½ hour flight. The plane, which YTN said had been chartered by a local travel agency for a Christmas holiday trip, previously left Muan for the Thai capital on Saturday evening.
Muan is a small regional airport located in the country’s south that opened in 2007. It was built to help connect cities including Gwangju and Mokpo and increased its regular service of international flights this year, including those of Jeju Air.
The two surviving flight attendants were taken to hospital, and one of the two survivors is in intensive care unit with a thoracic spine fracture, the doctor at the hospital said in a press briefing.
Boeing said it’s in contact with Jeju Air and ready to offer support. Aircraft manufacturers typically send specialists to crash sites to aid an investigation. Recovery of the victims, some of whom were ejected from the aircraft after the impact, has been completed and salvage crews are now searching the wreckage for passengers’ belongings, Yonhap said.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae (third from right) and other executives bow in apology ahead of a briefing in Seoul on Sunday. | YONHAP / VIA AFP-JIJI
More than 1,500 people including police, military, coast guard and local government personnel are assisting at the crash site, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. The airport’s runway will remain closed in coming days.
The accident is the deadliest passenger airline disaster in South Korea to date, surpassing the fatality toll from an Air China plane crash near Busan in 2002 that killed 129 people, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The crash is also among the worst globally this decade.
South Korea is currently experiencing a deepening political crisis after its president provoked public outrage by briefly imposing martial law earlier this month. Acting President Choi Sang-mok declared a week of mourning.
The crash is the second major air disaster in less than a week. An incident in Russian airspace led to the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft on Christmas Day, killing dozens.
After a year of not a single fatal accident among the 37 million commercial aircraft movements in 2023, this year has seen a rising number of cases. Early in January, an approaching Japan Airlines Airbus A350 crashed into a small plane on a runway in Tokyo, killing five occupants in the stationary aircraft.
A few days later, a door plug blew out of an airborne Boeing 737 Max 9 flying in the U.S.. Though nobody was killed in that accident, the episode threw the U.S. planemaker into deep crisis because it exposed sloppy workmanship at the company.
In August, a smaller ATR turboprop plane operated by Brazil’s VoePass crashed near Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport, killing 58 passengers and four crew members.
Investigators probing the cause of the worst civil aviation accident ever in South Korea will focus on a bird strike and the unusual landing-gear failure in the final moments of the fateful flight that left all but two of the 181 occupants of the Boeing Co. 737 jet dead.
The 737-800 aircraft operated by Jeju Air crashed at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning, skidding along the runway on its belly before smashing into a wall, where it exploded into a ball of fire. Only a pair of flight attendants survived.
While the aircraft was almost entirely destroyed, investigators will have valuable data to work with as they reconstruct the event. One vital key will be a readout of the two flight recorders, which were already pulled from the wreckage, though one device is damaged and may need longer to analyze.
Then there’s footage showing the aircraft during approach with one engine apparently flaming out, alongside videos of the plane coming in to the airport and sliding along the runway at high speed, appearing largely intact, before the impact with the embankment.
The accident poses several unusual mysteries, and investigators have said it’s too soon to speculate what may have caused the crash. Midair bird strikes are rare but not entirely uncommon and seldom deadly because aircraft can operate on one engine for some time. Why the landing gear didn’t deploy also remains unclear, or indeed if there’s a link between that malfunction and the bird strike that was discussed between cockpit and control tower just before the landing.
The pilot, considered an experienced captain with close to 7,000 hours of active duty, issued a mayday emergency call minutes after the control tower warned of a bird strike. He aborted his first landing, started a go-around and switched direction on the runway in his second attempt. The control tower granted clearance to land in the opposite direction, and officials said it’s unlikely that the runway length caused the crash.
The Boeing 737 involved in the crash is a predecessor to the latest Max variant. It’s considered a reliable workhorse that passed routine maintenance checks, in a country with deep expertise for aircraft servicing. Around the world, there are more than 4,000 planes of its type in service.
Even if one of the black boxes was damaged in the crash, the data storage units can often be reconstructed to aid the investigation. The fortified devices contain vital statistics and performance metrics of a flight, as well as taped conversations and sounds from the cockpit.
An abnormal flame is seen coming out of the right engine of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft as it prepares to land before crashing and bursting into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday. | YONHAP / VIA AFP-JIJI
Muan’s control tower warned of the risk of a bird strike at 8:57 a.m. local time, about two minutes before the pilot declared an emergency, officials said. The airport had four staffers working to prevent bird strikes at the time of the crash, including one outside the tower.
Birds are an aviation hazard because they can be ingested into the turbine or damage other parts of the plane and cause engine failure. In 2009, an Airbus A320 landed in the Hudson River in New York after a bird strike damaged both engines, in what has become known as the "Miracle on the Hudson” because everyone on board survived.
Jeju Air’s 15-year-old plane, registered HL8088, entered service with the carrier in 2017. It was initially delivered in 2009 to Irish discount airline Ryanair Holdings PLC, according to the Planespotters.net database. The jet was configured to seat as many as 189 passengers. Founded in 2005, Jeju Air operates 42 aircraft, according to its website.
There was no sign of malfunction during regular maintenance checks, Kim E-Bae, chief executive officer of Jeju Air, said at a news briefing. The jet was returning from Bangkok overnight in a 4½ hour flight. The plane, which YTN said had been chartered by a local travel agency for a Christmas holiday trip, previously left Muan for the Thai capital on Saturday evening.
Muan is a small regional airport located in the country’s south that opened in 2007. It was built to help connect cities including Gwangju and Mokpo and increased its regular service of international flights this year, including those of Jeju Air.
The two surviving flight attendants were taken to hospital, and one of the two survivors is in intensive care unit with a thoracic spine fracture, the doctor at the hospital said in a press briefing.
Boeing said it’s in contact with Jeju Air and ready to offer support. Aircraft manufacturers typically send specialists to crash sites to aid an investigation. Recovery of the victims, some of whom were ejected from the aircraft after the impact, has been completed and salvage crews are now searching the wreckage for passengers’ belongings, Yonhap said.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae (third from right) and other executives bow in apology ahead of a briefing in Seoul on Sunday. | YONHAP / VIA AFP-JIJI
More than 1,500 people including police, military, coast guard and local government personnel are assisting at the crash site, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. The airport’s runway will remain closed in coming days.
The accident is the deadliest passenger airline disaster in South Korea to date, surpassing the fatality toll from an Air China plane crash near Busan in 2002 that killed 129 people, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The crash is also among the worst globally this decade.
South Korea is currently experiencing a deepening political crisis after its president provoked public outrage by briefly imposing martial law earlier this month. Acting President Choi Sang-mok declared a week of mourning.
The crash is the second major air disaster in less than a week. An incident in Russian airspace led to the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft on Christmas Day, killing dozens.
After a year of not a single fatal accident among the 37 million commercial aircraft movements in 2023, this year has seen a rising number of cases. Early in January, an approaching Japan Airlines Airbus A350 crashed into a small plane on a runway in Tokyo, killing five occupants in the stationary aircraft.
A few days later, a door plug blew out of an airborne Boeing 737 Max 9 flying in the U.S.. Though nobody was killed in that accident, the episode threw the U.S. planemaker into deep crisis because it exposed sloppy workmanship at the company.
In August, a smaller ATR turboprop plane operated by Brazil’s VoePass crashed near Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport, killing 58 passengers and four crew members.
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