Aircraft Crash-Lands in South Korea, Passengers Narrowly Escape
A Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operated by Jeju Air crash-landed on a runway in Muan International Airport on Sunday, carrying 181 people, mostly families celebrating the holiday season. According to a transport analyst, the aircraft’s landing gear appears not to have been set down at the time of the crash, suggesting a possible “go-around” where the pilot may have been attempting to abort the landing and circle back to re-check the gear status.
The incident occurred during a busy travel period, with Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the US Department of Transportation, noting that “everything is just teeming with families celebrating the holidays.” Jeju Air is a popular low-cost carrier, and South Korea has a generally high aviation safety rating, ranking Category 1 in the US Federal Aviation Administration’s International Aviation Safety Assessment Program.
As the aviation industry continues to boom in South Korea, as well as neighboring Thailand and across Southeast Asia, regulators must stay on top of the growth to ensure safety, Schiavo emphasized. Amidst the chaos of the crash, all 181 passengers and crew on board the Flight 7C 2216 were safely evacuated, thanks to the heroic actions of emergency responders and airport personnel.