Jeju Air plane crashes upon landing; 179 presumed dead
All except two out of the 181 people on board a plane were killed when it went off the runway and slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Dec 29, Yonhap news agency reported.
The accident occurred as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members on a flight from the Thai capital Bangkok, was landing at the airport in the south of the country, according to BNO News.
South Korean news agency Yonhap said the accident happened at 9.07am local time (8.07am Singapore time), when the Jeju Air flight was landing at the airport in South Jeolla Province, about 288km from Seoul.
A 33-year-old flight attendant, who was one of only two rescued from the crash, reportedly asked doctors why he was in hospital, reported The Korea Herald.
After doctors at Mokpo Hankook Hospital asked him about his condition, he responded with: “What happened? How am I here?”
The flight attendant, who has not been named, told doctors that the last thing he remembers is putting on a seatbelt before the landing, thinking the plane had almost landed.
He added that he has no recollection of what happened after that, and has injuries to his left shoulder and head. His role was to serve passengers near the back of the plane, added the news outlet.
Another woman who was rescued is also currently being treated at the same hospital.
News agency Yonhap said the plane, a Boeing 737-800, may have encountered a bird strike, which caused the landing gear to fail.
A bird strike is when a bird or any other wildlife and an aircraft collide, either when the plane is during a flight, on a take-off or landing. It also happens when birds are ingested into engine air intakes. This can be hazardous to aircraft and those on board as it causes the engine to fail or suffer major power loss.
A notable previous incident of a bird strike was in 2009 when a flock of geese made contact with an Airbus A320 after take-off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City, causing both engines to fail, reported The Guardian. The collision forced the captain to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River. All passengers and crew survived, and the incident is often referred to as the "Miracle on the Hudson".
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
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