South Korea plane crash: Jeju Air cuts flights to ‘repair trust’ as outrage grows over airport wall
Jeju Air’s passenger plane smashed into a concrete wall after an emergency landing at Muan international airport in South Korea
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeju Air's chief executive said the airline will reduce its winter air traffic by up to 15 per cent and aim to secure trust following the death of 179 people in the plane crash.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when the Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport on Sunday, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into an embankment.
South Korean officials were joined by a US probe team and officials from Boeing as they ramped up the investigation on Tuesday into the cause of its deadliest domestic air accident as police scrambled to identify victims.
Officials have also faced pointed questions about design features at the airport, particularly a large dirt-and-concrete embankment near the end of the runway used to support navigation equipment.
Experts said it seemed unlikely a bird strike would have been the sole cause of the landing gear malfunctioning.
Meanwhile, families of the victims have been camping out at the airport as they demand answers.
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Moment South Korea plane skids along runway before fiery crash
Moment Jeju Air plane skids along South Korea runway before crash
Jeju Air: Moment South Korea plane skids along runway before fiery crash
A Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people skidded down the runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday, December 29, before crashing. Yonhap news agency, citing firefighting authorities reported that, except for the two rescued, all the missing passengers are presumed dead and search efforts have now shifted to recovering the bodies. The aircraft appeared to land without its landing gear deployed as it touched down on the tarmac, skidding and veering off the runway before slamming into a wall and bursting into flames. Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital of Bangkok, was landing shortly after 9am (0000 GMT) at the airport in the country’s south, South Korea’s transport ministry said.
South Korea plane crash: Everything we know so far
South Korea plane crash: All we know so far
Footage shows Boeing 737-800 skidding along runway at Muan airport before hitting wall and catching fire
US investigators and Boeing officials join Jeju Air crash probe
A team of investigators from the US and officials from aircraft manufacturer Boeing joined the on-site probe of the Jeju Air plane crash at the Muan international airport.
A member from the US Federal Aviation Administration, three experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board and four representatives from Boeing have joined South Korean investigators, Seoul’s transport ministry said.
“South Korean and US investigators discussed the schedule procedures and specific areas of focus for the investigation,” Joo Jong-wan, head of aviation policy at the transport ministry, told reporters.
Bird strike, concerete wall - Questions over South Korea’s deadliest plane crash
Investigators are examining bird strikes, whether any of the aircraft’s control systems were disabled, and the apparent rush by the pilots to attempt a landing soon after declaring an emergency as possible factors in the crash, fire and transportation officials have said.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
Officials have also faced pointed questions about design features at the airport, particularly a large dirt-and-concrete embankment near the end of the runway used to support navigation equipment.
The plane slammed into the embankment at high speed and erupted into a fireball. Bodies and body parts were thrown into surrounding fields and most of the aircraft disintegrated in flames.
South Korean officials say the embankment was built according to standards, and that there are similar features at other airports including in the US and Europe.
But many experts said its proximity to the end of the runway defied best practices and likely made the crash far more deadly than it may have been otherwise.
The runway design “absolutely (did) not” meet industry best practices, which preclude any hard structure like a berm within at least 300m of the runway’s end, John Cox, chief executive of Safety Operating Systems, told Reuters.
Jeju Air stock hit record low
Shares of South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air hit their lowest on record yesterday, after the deadliest air crash in the country killed 179 people.
Jeju Air shares traded down 8.5 per cent after falling as much as 15.7 per cent earlier in the session to 6,920won (£3.74), the lowest since they were listed in 2015.
The share slide yesterday wiped out as much as 95.7bn won (£51.9m) in market capitalisation.
Jeju Air CEO bows in apology after South Korea deadly plane crash
Jeju Air CEO bows in apology after South Korea deadly plane crash
Jeju Air’s CEO bowed in apology after one of his airline’s passenger planes crashed and burst into flames at an airport in South Korea, on Sunday, 29 December. At least 177 people have been declared dead after the Boeing 737-800 plane skidded off the runway at Muan airport. Two surviving crew members have been rescued. At a news conference in Gimpo, Kim E-bae issued a “sincere apology and condolences to those who have lost their lives in the accident and their families.” The crash was one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history.
Anger as grieving families wait for victims’ remains
Desperate families who camped out at an airport awaiting news of their loved ones “wailed and passed out” as names of the 179 killed in South Korea’s deadliest plane crash were announced yesterday.
Grief and shock swept through the room as it emerged the only two survivors were cabin crew sitting at the back of the Boeing 737-800 which crash-landed at Muan International airport.
Investigators have retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, but it could be months before the cause of the disaster is clear – including why Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok landed without its slats or wheels deployed, and why there was a solid object beyond the runway perimeter that the pilots were unable to avoid.
More here.
Anger as families await victims’ remains after South Korea plane crash
Black box retrieved but families are told bodies of victims may never be found
At least 174 victims identified
The remains of at least 174 people have been identified by South Korean officials as grieving families camp outside the morgue for the bodies of their loved ones.
“Of the 32 people who could not be identified by fingerprints, we identified 17 people in the first DNA test and 10 more in the second round,” the land ministry said today.
“We are further confirming the remaining five due to DNA inconsistencies.” Officials yesterday said it could take up to 10 days to prepare the dead for transport.
Doomed aircraft operated 13 flights in 48 hours before the crash
The Jeju Air plane that crashed in Muan killing 179 people had operated 13 flights in 48 hours just prior to the fatal incident, Yonhap news agency reported citing sources.
The high number of trips in such a short period has raised concerns over excessive usage of the Boeing B737-800 aircraft to meet the Holiday rush.
It was found to have traveled to domestic and international destinations, including Beijing, Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu, Nagasaki and Taipei.
What is known about a fiery passenger jet crash landing that claimed 179 lives in South Korea?
What is known about a fiery passenger jet crash landing that claimed 179 lives in South Korea?
South Korean officials are investigating the crash landing of a passenger jet that's one of the deadliest disasters in that nation's aviation history
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