New Delhi: In one of the most tragic disaster in the aviation history of the country, a passenger jet burst into flames while landing at an airport in South Korea on Sunday. 179 passengers have been killed while two of them managed to survive the deadly crash.
A video of the mishap showed the jet skidding across the airstrip, overrunning the runway and hitting into a barrier at the end of the runway of the airport, about 290 kilometres south of Seoul. Reports suggest that the front landing gear of the jet failed to deployed thus leading to the tragedy.
What we know so far about South Korea plane crash
A video telecasted by the South Korean television channels showed the plane skidding — without its landing gear deployed. The jet overran the runway and hit a barrier, causing a massive explosion.
The 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 crashed around 9.03 local time while arriving from Bangkok in the town of Muan.
Authorities have recovered the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane’s black box and their examination is likely to throw light on the causes of the crash.
The jet was carrying 181 passengers and crew. Of those, a total of 179 people died in the crash, while only two crew members survived.
What about reports of a bird strike?
Authorities say it will take months to determine the cause. But there are some possible clues. Officials are looking into all the possibilities about what caused the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds, said Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station.
Several videos on social media also indicate at the bird hit theory. The videos show an object hitting the jet while it was still in air before landing in Muan.
A Jeju Air flight 7C2216 carrying 181 passengers and six flight attendants drove off the runway and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in South Korea 🇰🇷
179 Dead, 2 Survivors
Video footage released by MBC News showing a bird strike before the crash. pic.twitter.com/Y5T4syTSgl
— Sumit (@SumitHansd) December 29, 2024
Some officials of the South Korean Transport Ministry have also said that the barriers crash could also be the cause of the mishap.
Meanwhile, the country’s South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system once the recovery work on the Jeju Air crash is finished.
The top priority for now is identifying the victims, supporting their families and treating the two survivors for which no available resources should be spared, Choi told a disaster management meeting in Seoul.
