Latest news Plane crashes in South Korea - 179 dead
The images of the inferno in Muan, South Korea, are almost unbearable: a passenger plane touches down at the airport in the southwest of the country without its landing gear deployed, but it simply does not come to a halt. It ends up crashing into a wall and bursting into flames and thick smoke.
29.12.2024, 13:53
SDA
179 people died in the accident on Sunday morning (local time). By the evening, two were still missing. Only two crew members survive the crash landing without life-threatening injuries. The big question: How could one of the worst plane crashes in recent years happen?
Warning from the tower
The plane of the Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air was on its way from Bangkok to Muan Airport with 181 people on board. Almost all of them were Korean citizens, only two were from Thailand. According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the tower in Muan had warned of bird strikes, i.e. a collision with birds, before the failed landing attempt. Shortly afterwards, the pilots sent out a mayday emergency call.
According to media reports, investigators have so far assumed that a bird strike caused a malfunction in the landing gear and forced the pilots to make the belly landing. According to Yonhap, eyewitnesses on the ground and one of the rescued crew members described smoke coming from one of the engines and claimed to have heard banging noises. However, the final clarification of the cause of the accident could take months, even though flight recorders have been found.
Hardly any chance of survival
The dozens of rescue workers on the scene were met with a scene of devastation with burning wreckage and charred debris. Only the rear section of the completely destroyed Boeing 737-800 was still recognizable. According to Yonhap, it was difficult to identify the deceased. After the plane crashed into the wall, passengers were ejected from the aircraft, it said. The chance of survival was "extremely low".
Even aviation experts have not yet been able to make sense of the accident. Expert Gerald Wissel from Ratzeburger Airborn Consulting, for example, noted that the landing gear could have been extended manually. It is also questionable why the fire department was not ready with a foam blanket. However, Wissel emphasized that the evaluation of the flight recorders would have to be awaited before more precise conclusions could be drawn.
According to media reports, the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing contacted Jeju Air after the accident. The airline published a letter of apology online: "We deeply apologize to everyone affected by the incident at Muan Airport." The company regrets the suffering caused and will do everything in its power to clear up the accident. Airline boss Kim E Bae took responsibility.
Not the only aviation accident in 2024
It is not the first serious aviation accident to occur this year. In Brazil, a plane with 61 people on board crashed into a residential area in the city of Vinhedo in the state of São Paulo on August 9. None of the passengers survived the crash. Before the crash, the pilots discussed problems with the plane's de-icing system, according to an air force report. However, the specific cause of the accident is unclear.
A plane crash occurred in the Himalayan state of Nepal on July 24th, killing 18 people. Only the captain was rescued with serious injuries. The cause of the crash is also unclear in this case.
Just a few days ago, 38 people died in the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan; 29 passengers survived, some of them seriously injured. Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that Russian air defenses had been deployed against Ukrainian drone attacks at the time and apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the incident.
Plane crash during national crisis
Many heads of state and government expressed their condolences to the people of South Korea. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wished the injured a "speedy recovery" on the online platform X. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his "deepest dismay" in a statement. In view of the difficult time for the country, this is a "further blow to the heart of the nation", he explained. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her "inconsolability" on X.
The accident hit South Korea during a serious national crisis surrounding the suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol. President Choi Sang Mok, who was only acting president, arrived at the scene of the accident a few hours after it happened. According to Yonhap, he said that the government wanted to thoroughly clarify the cause and develop preventative measures to prevent this from happening in the future.
An emergency meeting was held in Seoul, chaired by Chief of Staff Chung Jin Suk, to discuss the coordination of ministries and the provision of resources such as medical aid.
The airport in Muan is likely to remain closed for longer. All flights were canceled on the day of the accident. The airport, which was opened in 2007 after ten years of construction, is located in the southwestern province of Jeolla - almost 300 kilometers from the capital Seoul.
