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.
South Korea plane crash: Everything we know about country’s worst domestic air disaster
Distraught families want answers after 179 people die in South Korea’s deadliest domestic air disaster
Family members of South Korea plane crash victims call for help recovering loved ones
Moment South Korea plane skids along runway before fiery crash
In pics: People pay tribute to the victims of Jeju Air crash
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 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.
Watch here.
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 intensifies probe into Jeju Air crash
South Korea ramped up investigations today into the cause of its deadliest domestic air accident as police scrambled to identify victims, while families of those killed in this week's crash of a Jeju Air jet pushed for more details.
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 holding navigation equipment.
But remarks in the airport's operating manual, uploaded early in 2024, said the embankment was too close to the end of the runway and recommended that the location of the equipment be reviewed during a planned expansion.
A transport ministry official said authorities would need to check the document before replying to questions.
South Korea to complete inspections by 3 January
South Korean officials said inspections of all 101 B737-800s operated by South Korean airlines were set to wrap up by 3 January, though the airport would stay closed until 7 January.
Acting president Choi Sang-mok yesterday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operation.
Jeju Air to reduce flight operations by up to 15 per cent
Jeju Air will reduce its flight operations by up to 15 per cent until March to strengthen its operational safety measures, chief executive Kim E Bae said.
“We are committed to addressing the ongoing situation, reinforcing safety protocols and restoring public trust," he told reporters today.
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.
The Jeju Air boss said the company was preparing emergency financial support to cover necessary expenses and assist the families of the victims.
"We are in detailed discussions with both domestic and international insurers to handle the settlement process," Mr Kim added.
South Korea begins releasing bodies of victims
South Korean officials today began releasing bodies of the victims killed in the Jeju Air plane crash on Sunday.
“Of the 179 victims, the bodies of four have completed the handover procedures to their bereaved families for funerals,” transport minister Park Sang-woo said site of the disaster, where 179 people were killed in one of the worst plane crashes in South Korea’s history.
“For 28 victims, whose identities have been confirmed and autopsies completed, we will allow funeral procedures to begin from 2pm (local time) today with the consent of their families,” he added.
In pics: Mourners pay their respects
Trump's secretary of state nominee offers condolences
Marco Rubio, the senator nominated by Donald Trump to serve as the secretary of state, offered deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the Jeju Air plane crash.
"Our hearts go out to the Korean people. We share in your grief over the tragic loss of 179 people," he wrote on X. "Our prayers are with you and your great nation."
Families want answers after 179 die in plane crash
Grieving families screamed and wept at a South Korean airport as the names of the dead were confirmed after a plane carrying 181 people crashed, killing all but two on board, in the worst domestic aviation disaster in the country’s history.
The Jeju Air passenger plane skidded off a runway at Muan international airport, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames as the Boeing 737-800 from Bangkok attempted an emergency landing on Sunday, at 9.03am local time.
Inside the arrival area of the airport, about 185 miles away from the capital Seoul, authorities called out the names of some of those killed in the crash, triggering an explosion of grief and rage among the passengers’ families in the terminal where their loved ones had been due to return home.
Among the dead were three generations of the same family, with a man in his sixties telling Yonhap news agency that his sister-in-law, daughter, her husband and their young children were tragically on board.
More here.
Families want answers after South Korea’s deadliest domestic air disaster
South Korea’s president declares a seven-day national mourning period as officials begin investigation into what happened on the Boeing 737-800
Bird strike, concrete 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.
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