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This is a very heavy human toll for this new plane crash that occurred in South Korea, this Sunday, December 29, 2024: a Boeing 737-800 from the low-cost airline Jeju Air crashed on the landing strip from Muan International Airport, at 9:03 a.m. local time, and according to the authorities there were only two survivors out of the 181 passengers.
Muan Fire Station Chief Lee Jeong-hyun said that “the cause of the accident is presumed to be a collision with a bird combined with adverse weather conditions”. The impact could have caused a failure of the landing gear, which would not have lowered normally. An investigation has been opened, which will help to clarify what led the plane to crash before catching fire when it hit a concrete wall along the runway at high speed.
The two survivors, two members of the crew, were rescued from the tail of the plane, and have “moderate to serious” injuries, according to the authorities, who dispatched thirty-two fire trucks to the scene, which brought the fire under control at 9:45 a.m.
A major accident
The flight, from Bangkok, which carried 175 passengers and 6 crew members, included at least 173 Korean nationals and 2 Thai nationals.
The plane involved in the crash had, according to the South Korean airline, been in service for fifteen years, and had no accident history. The Muan-Bangkok international line was launched only three weeks ago, on December 8.
It is the worst domestic civil aviation disaster in South Korea, usually known for its safety. It is also the first fatal accident known by the company Jeju Air, launched in 2005. The last major plane accident on Korean soil dates back to 2002, with the crash of an Air China plane near the airport. from Gimhae, which killed 129 of the 166 passengers.
Source: www.slate.fr
