World
‘Plane seemed out of control’: South Korea reeling from crash that killed 179
At least 179 dead after South Korea plane veers off runway, crashes
A Jeju Air plane belly-landed and veered off a runway, slamming into a wall at Muan International Airport.
A team of U.S. investigators was being assembled to aid South Korea’s probe into a fiery commercial plane crash Sunday that killed 179 people in that country’s deadliest domestic air disaster ever.
Two Jeju Air crew members survived and were being treated for injuries. The flight had 175 passengers and six crew on board, and the fatalities ranged in age from 3 to 78, authorities said.
Jeju Air 089590.KS Flight 7C2216 was en route from Bangkok when it touched down without deploying its landing gear, veered off a runway and slammed into a wall at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning, South Korea’s Transport Ministry said. Much of the crash was captured on video.
As authorities announced the names of some of those killed in the crash, families of the passengers wept and screamed, some collapsing on the floor. South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, who visited the crash site, announced a weeklong period of mourning.
The control tower had issued bird-strike warnings shortly before the pilots declared “mayday” and attempted to land, authorities said. The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in local media video skidding down the runway before crashing in an explosion of flames and debris.
“After the plane collided with the wall, passengers were thrown out of the aircraft. The chances of survival (were) extremely low,” Muan fire Chief Lee Jeong-hyeon said in a briefing translated by Yonhap news agency. “The aircraft has almost completely been destroyed, and it is difficult to identify the deceased. We are in the process of recovering the remains, which will take time.”
Investigators collected saliva swabs from family members of those aboard for DNA tests to help identify victims. Jeon Je-young, 71, said his daughter Mi-sook died in the crash.
“When I saw the accident video, the plane seemed out of control,” Jeon told Reuters. “The pilots probably had no choice but to do it. My daughter, who is only in her mid-40s, ended up like this. This is unbelievable.”
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was leading a team of U.S. investigators from Boeing and the FAA to assist South Korea in the investigation. Under global aviation rules, South Korea will head the civil investigation while the NTSB will be included since the plane was designed and built in the U.S.
President Joe Biden issued a statement saying he was “deeply saddened” and pledged any assistance South Korea might need.
“As close allies, the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people,” Biden said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy.”
Muan is a county of about 100,000 people about 200 miles south of Seoul, in the country’s southern tip. The passengers included two Thai nationals, and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, according to the Transport Ministry. Jeju Air pledged full support for the surviving families, citing a $1 billion insurance plan.
“We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident,” the airline said in a statement. “We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused.”
CEO Kim E-bae issued an apology and extended condolences to family members, saying that “regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the CEO.”
The aircraft was manufactured in 2009, the transport ministry said. Boeing issued this statement: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”
All domestic and international flights at the Muan airport had been canceled, Yonhap reported.
The transport ministry said the airport control tower issued a bird-strike warning at 8:54 a.m. The pilot declared mayday at 8:59 a.m. and landed the plane at 9:03 a.m. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered, Lee said.
Investigators were examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. Yonhap news agency cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said South Korean safety standards are high and called the crash an “extraordinary failure.” One unique feature of the 737 is its design that allows pilots to lower landing gear by “free fall” if the hydraulics fail, he said.
“Basically, just unlock the gear, let it fall into place,” Harteveldt told USA TODAY. “So I don’t know why that did not happen.”
He added that because the crash appeared to be a “last-minute event,” safety crews did not have time to blanket the runway in foam that might have mitigated the extent of the explosion and fire.
The two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane. Yonhap described one survivor, with the surname of Lee, 33, as a flight attendant being treated for multiple fractures including his upper spine. Hospital director Ju Woong told Yonhap that Lee was under special care because of the possibility of paralysis.
Lee told doctors he woke up to find he had been rescued, Ju said, adding that Lee was able to communicate and that there was no indication of memory loss.
Also rescued was a flight attendant named Koo, 25, who was in stable condition with injuries to her ankle and head, Ju said.
Choi had been on the job for less than 48 hours when he arrived at the scene of the crash. Choi, the country’s finance minister, became acting leader only on Friday after the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
He in turn had only been acting president since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and suspended from power on Dec. 14 following his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
The previous most deadly air accident in South Korea was in 2002 when a Boeing 767-200 operated by Air China crashed into a hill near South Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan, killing 129 people and injuring 37.
In 1997, a Korean Air plane crash in Guam killed 228 people, and in 1983, a Soviet fighter jet shot down a Korean Air flight over Russian airspace, killing all 269 aboard.
The crash at Muan International Airport is the first fatal accident involving Jeju Air, the country’s biggest budget airline, which was founded in 2005.
Experts said the bird strike report and the way the aircraft attempted to land raised more questions than answers.
“A bird strike is not unusual, problems with an undercarriage are not unusual,” Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas said. “Bird strikes happen far more often, but typically they don’t cause the loss of an airplane by themselves.”
Hours after the crash, family members gathered in the airport’s arrival area, some crying and hugging as Red Cross volunteers handed out blankets.
Many victims appeared to be residents of nearby areas returning from vacation, officials said.
Families cried out as a medic announced the names of victims identified by their fingerprints. Papers were circulated for families to write down their contact details.
Contributing: Reuters
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