Two crew members, a male and a female, miraculously survived.
Warning: graphic footage
South Korea experienced its most devastating air tragedy with the crash of Jeju Air flight 2216 at Muan International Airport, resulting in the loss of at least 177 lives. Investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as potential factors in the incident.
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 29, 2024
Here’s what we know:
This incident marks the deadliest aviation disaster in South Korea since 1997, when a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 crashed in Guam, claiming 228 lives.
What happened?
The ill-fated Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 originated from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew members on board. The tragedy occurred at Muan county’s airport in the country’s southwest, shortly after 9 a.m. local time on Sunday (7 p.m. ET Saturday).
Footage of Sunday’s crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed the plane sliding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball.
However, many questions remain, including: why wasn’t the landing gear deployed?
What caused the accident?
Experts told CNN that the plane’s undercarriage – specifically, the wheels used for takeoff and landing – appeared not to have fully deployed before landing. But what caused this failure to deploy is still unclear.
Aviation analysts said more evidence is needed before South Korean authorities can definitively pinpoint what might have caused Sunday’s crash, including speculation from local officials about a possible bird strike prior to the crash landing.
The comments came after Lee Jeong-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, briefed the media that the cause was “estimated to be the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather.” Footage of the crash showed clear skies at the time.
David Soucie, former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector, said that “speculation is the worst enemy of an investigator.”
“In fact, that’s why it’s so protected when there is an aircraft accident investigation, the information is protected. They’re not supposed to be making any speculation about this type of thing,” Soucie told CNN’s Paula Newton.
Rescuers work at the wreckage of passenger plane #Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 at Muan International Airport in Muan-gun, #SouthKorea. The #plane carrying 181 people crashed after skidding off the runway and colliding with a wall, resulting in an explosion.
: Chung Sung-Jun pic.twitter.com/CvXysJ0KSh
— Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) December 29, 2024
South Korea’s MBC TV has released Footage appearing to show an Explosion, possibly a Bird Strike, in the Right-Wing Engine of Jeju Air Flight 2216, right before it Crashed earlier at Muan International Airport in South Korea. pic.twitter.com/Vsy23dmuFZ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 29, 2024
Officials will continue to investigate the tragedy:
Flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane’s black box have been retrieved by workers. They will be examined by government experts investigating the cause of the crash and fire, Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan said.
The White House issued a statement at 1:55 p.m. ET:
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Plane Crash in the Republic of Korea
Jill and I are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life that occurred as a result of the Jeju Airlines accident in Muan, Republic of Korea. As close allies, the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy. The United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance.
RedState will continue to keep you updated as new developments come in.
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