South Korean Jeju Air Passenger Jet Crashes, Killing 179 in Deadliest Air Disaster
A South Korean passenger jet, Flight 7C2216, crashed on landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday, resulting in the country’s deadliest air disaster, with 179 people killed.
According to final minutes of the flight, which were provided by South Korea’s transport ministry and fire authorities, the events leading up to the crash were as follows:
At 8:54 a.m., Muan airport air traffic control authorized the aircraft to land on runway 01, oriented 10 degrees east of north. At 8:57 a.m., air traffic control gave a “caution – bird activity” advisory. At 8:59 a.m., the pilot reported a bird strike and declared an emergency, “Mayday Mayday Mayday” and “Bird strike, bird strike, go-around.”
The pilot then initiated a go-around and requested authorization to land on runway 19, which is accessed from the opposite end of the airport’s single runway. At 9:01 a.m., air traffic control authorized the landing on runway 19. At 9:02 a.m., the flight made contact with the runway at around 1,200 meters from the 2,800-meter runway.
However, at 9:03 a.m., the flight over-shot the runway and crashed into an embankment. At 9:10 a.m., the Transport Ministry received a report of the accident from airport authorities. Between 9:23 and 9:50 a.m., a male was rescued and transported to a temporary medical facility, and a second person was rescued from the plane’s tail section. At 9:38 a.m., Muan airport was closed due to the incident.