Nearly 200 people dead in fiery airliner crash in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — An airliner carrying 181 people crashed Sunday morning in South Korea, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.

Authorities said there were two survivors from Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok, which crashed at 9:07 a.m. at Muan International Airport, about 180 miles from Seoul.

The cause of the fiery crash of the Boeing 737-800 jetliner was being investigated. Flight data and video recordings by people on the ground raised two issues: a bird strike to one jet engine and a failure to deploy landing gear. Those aboard were South Koreans and two Thai nationals.

The crash rates as one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board.

The disaster comes at a troubled time for South Korea, which is facing unusual political turmoil after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed declaration of martial law. This has led to bitter partisan clashes and governmental gridlock in Seoul. The country’s high-tech economy also faces an uncertain future with the return of Donald Trump and his “America First” economic policies to the White House next month.

Jeju Air is South Korea’s leading low-cost airline. It provides travel to and from the vacation island off Jeju and regional routes.

In a televised news conference, Jeju Air President Kim E-bae bowed deeply with other senior company officials as he apologized to bereaved families, The Associated Press reported. He said the company had not identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft during regular checkups and that he would wait for the official investigation results.

In Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he joined in “prayer for the survivors and the dead.” A vacationing President Biden said the U.S. government was ready to offer “any necessary assistance.”

According to a press briefing by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, the Muan control tower issued a warning of a flock of birds in the airspace at 8:57 a.m. One minute later, Flight 7C 2216 declared an emergency and attempted to land from the opposite end of the runway with the tower’s permission. The crash occurred on the aircraft’s second attempt to touch down.

The fast-unfolding disaster was visible in footage shot by people near the airport.

An apparent bird impact on the aircraft’s starboard jet intake was caught in a video recorded from the ground as the plane passed overhead. Korean news shared the clip, which then circulated widely on social media.

Visually, the strike causes a minor blast in the plane’s wake but not a major explosion or fire.

Other videos recorded from the ground show the aircraft hurtling along the runway on its belly without its landing gear deployed. Smoke, but no flame, is seen pouring from the starboard engine.

The fast-moving airplane careens off the runway into a concrete barrier, explodes into a fireball and disintegrates. Emergency crews were immediately on hand, but all imagery shows a scene of devastation with wreckage scattered far and wide.

The two survivors — both crew members with serious injuries, now hospitalized — were reportedly in the tail section. That appeared recognizably intact, though upside down and scorched.

Shocked family members gathered at the airport, where some berated the media for showing their misery.

South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok visited the airport and declared Muan County a special disaster zone, which means it can receive state support.

“The government is allocating all available resources,” Mr. Choi said. “We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident.”

Mr. Yoon, whom lawmakers impeached after his failed autocoup, broke his silence to send condolences. He is awaiting a constitutional court hearing on his impeachment in parliament after he declared martial law on Dec. 3.

One tragedy, two problems, no answers

The aircraft’s black box flight recorder was reportedly discovered but not yet analyzed. Investigations are pending, and investigators face many unanswered questions.

The Boeing 737-800, a twin-engine aircraft, can fly on one engine, meaning a single bird strike should not have been catastrophic.

Multiple open-source intelligence and aviation sites on social media are asking why the undercarriage was not lowered, given that it would be unusual for an engine failure to impact hydraulics or landing gear.

An American pilot who has flown in southern South Korea, writing on a closed, security-related online chat group seen by The Washington Times, stated: “A bird strike may take out an engine but not landing gear.”

Related protocols deal with landing gear issues.

“If, for some reason, [a pilot’s] landing gear does not deploy, he would want to circle the airport while making multiple attempts to deploy the gear, while getting input/guidance from flight engineers on the ground,” the source wrote.

If there is no resort but a belly landing, the pilot would usually dump fuel to reduce the likelihood of fire and emergency services would spray the runway with foam, he said.

No foam is evident in any of the footage.

The aircraft made an emergency diversion two days earlier en route to Beijing.

“We can confirm that yesterday, December 27, 2024, the Boeing 737-8AS (Registration HL8088) involved in today’s accident declared an emergency and diverted to Seoul,” said X account AirNav Radar, which tracks flights globally. It cited flight data and a flight path map.

That emergency was called because of a passenger’s medical condition, not any technical issue with the aircraft.

Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer, has sustained a string of safety issues in recent years. It said it was in contact with the airline.

“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” the firm wrote on X. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”

In a remarkable coincidence, a Canadian aircraft crash-landed at Halifax Aircraft just hours later.

The faulty landing gear was cited as the cause of the Air Canada Express flight, which crashed at 9:30 p.m. local time at Halifax Airport.

Footage shot from inside the aircraft shows an alarming blaze on the aircraft’s port side, but no serious injuries or fatalities were reported in the incident. The Canadian aircraft was a much smaller De Havilland than the Boeing in the South Korean crash.