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.
Boeing offers condolences after deadly South Korea airliner crash
Boeing offered condolences and said it is in touch with South Korea’s Jeju Air after the deadly crash of an airliner this morning.
The crash involved a Boeing-made 737-800, according to Jeju Air.
Death toll rises to 85 as plane veers off runway in South Korea
Visuals of the crash showed the plane landing on its belly, leaving a trail of grey smoke as the landing gear remained shut. The plane, engulfed in thick pillows of black smoke, collided head-on with a concrete wall at the end of the strip.
The time of the crash was confirmed as 9.03am local time, the transport ministry said.
Emergency officials have said they are examining the cause of the fire as initial signs showed the plane’s landing gear likely malfunctioned.
The plane was returning from Bangkok and included two Thai nationals, officials from the transport ministry said.
Death toll rises to 85 as plane veers off runway in South Korea
Preliminary reports suggest the Jeju Air passenger plane’s front landing gear failed to deploy
Two rescued in Jeju Air plane crash
Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a briefing. The fire was extinguished by 1pm, Mr Lee said.
“Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognise,” he said.
Yonhap news agency cited a fire official as saying most of 175 passengers and six crew were presumed dead.
Authorities have switched from rescue to recovery operations and because of the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, the official added.
The two crew were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health centre.
At least 85 feared dead in South Korea plane crash
At least 85 people were killed when an airliner landed without wheels, veering off the runway and erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea‘s Muan International Airport this morning, the national fire agency said.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9am (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea‘s transport ministry said.
The ministry also confirmed the casualties in the deadliest air accident involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades.
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