South Korea plane crash latest: Three-year-old boy youngest of 179 killed after suspected bird strike
Jeju Air’s passenger plane rams into a concrete wall in South Korea as landing gear fails to deploy
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Your support makes all the difference.A three-year-old boy is reported to be the youngest of 179 passengers and crew killed in South Korea.
Air traffic controllers warned the pilot of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 flight about a possible bird strike just moments before it crashed at South Korea’s Muan airport on Sunday morning.
Authorities have confirmed that all 175 passengers, as well as four of the six crew, were killed. The only two survivors were crew sitting at the back of the plane at the time of the crash.
It is the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil in its history.
The Jeju Air flight erupted in flames after veering off the runway and crashing into a wall. Footage showed the horrifying moment the packed plane burst into flames.
The transport ministry has confirmed that air traffic controllers warned the pilots of the ill-fated flight about bird strike risks just three minutes before the plane landed. The pilot then declared a mayday one minute later before trying to land the plane.
But experts have expressed scepticism that a collision with a bird could cause such damage.
Key timings of the crash
Below, we have some key timings of the Jeju Air plane crash earlier today, according to South Korea’s transport ministry. They show local times to South Korea.
08:57 a.m. - Control tower issued a bird strike warning
08:59 a.m. - Mayday call
09:03 a.m. - Runway crash
11:30 a.m. - Flight data recorder recovered
2:24 p.m. - Cockpit voice recorder recovered
Family of Jeju Air victims express anger at authorities
The families of those killed during the Jeju Air plane crash this morning have reportedly expressed anger at the way the authorities are handling the situation.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reports that at around 3.30pm local time, the government began announcing the names of the then 22 people confirmed dead. That figure is now at 88.
But some of the people there, gathered to find out information about their loved ones, protests that the names did not align with those disclosed earlier in the day.
“Is it too much to ask for a list of the dead to be put up clearly along with the current status of the accident?” said one family member.
Some people demanded they be allowed to visit the site of the crash so that they could identify their family members.
Sister of Jeju Air victim mourns her sibling
A 33-year-old woman identified by her surname Kim has said her sister was on the ill-fated Jeju Air flight that crashed his morning.
“My sister was on that plane,” she told South Korean outlet Yonhap. “She’s had so many hardships and gone traveling because her situation was only just beginning to improve.”
‘I can’t believe the entire family has just disappeared’
The family member of some of the victims of this morning’s Jeju Air plane crash has said his “heart aches so much” following reports that all passengers aboard the flight have been declared dead.
Maeng Gi-su, 78, told the BBC his nephew and his nephew’s two sons had been on the flight.
He said they had gone to celebrate the youngest taking his college entrance exams. Their father had taken them as a treat.
“I can’t believe the entire family has just disappeared. My heart aches so much”, he says.
Authorities have so far identified 88 people.
At least 88 bodies have been identified so far as emergency personnel continued to search through the crash site, officials have said.
All but two of the 181 people aboard the Jeju Air flight have been declared dead, however.
Family of Jeju Air flight told there was no hope of survival
The family of those killed during this morning’s Jeju Air plane crash have been told there was no hope of survival during a briefing.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports that one of the people gathered at the airport to listen to an update from officials asked: “Is there no possibility of survival at all?”
“Regrettably, it appears so,” chief of Muan fire department Lee Jeong-hyeon answered.
Update: All passengers killed on Jeju Air flight, say authorities
All 175 passengers aboard the Jeju Air flight that crashes this morning have been killed, local authorities have announced.
The total death toll is 179. Two of the six crew members were the only survivors. They had been sitting at the back of the plane.
What do we know about the aircraft involved?
The Boeing 737-800 involved in the accident was originally ordered by Ryanair and delivered to the airline’s Dublin base on 4 September 2009. It flew for the Irish carrier for seven years. In November 2016 it was withdrawn from use. Ryanair maintains a younger fleet than many airlines.
The 737 was returned to the lessor SMBC Aviation Capital. In February 2017 it was leased to Jeju Air, and flew from Dublin via Baku to Seoul Gimpo airport.
Since then it has been used for high-frequency regional flights. In the week before the accident, the aircraft flew mainly to and from Muan and the holiday island of Jeju. Destinations included Bangkok, Nagasaki, Taipei, Kota Kinabalu and Beijing.
Two days before the crash, the Boeing 737 was on a routine flight from Jeju to Beijing when it diverted to South Korea’s main airport, Incheon. The flight later continued to the Chinese capital.
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