177 killed in plane crash at South Korean airport

Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s impeached president, extended his “deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies” to those killed and their family members.

“I am overwhelmed with grief and sorrow,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

“I urge everyone to prioritize the safety of firefighters and all rescue personnel, even amidst this urgent situation,” he said, adding, “I trust that the government will do its utmost to respond to the accident and support the victims.”

A photo published by local news agency Newsis showed a flock of migratory birds near the Muan International Airport where the airplane crash landed.

South Korean officials have said the pilots attempted to land at an alternate runway after calling a mayday alert following a bird strike.

The country’s national fire agency has confirmed the deaths of 177 people. Two people remain unaccounted for, and two survived.

The 64-year-old grandmother stood at the departure hall of Muan International Airport, waiting to hear the fate of her grandchild, son and daughter-in-law.

“The child is 9 years old, and my daughter-in-law works for Jeju Air,” said Choi Ok-Soon in an interview with the Newsis News Agency. “Since it was her day off, they went on a trip together,” she said.

Choi had last heard from her son last night around 11 p.m, she said, “My son contacted me saying, ‘We’re departing, too,’ and told me, ‘Mom, have a good time as well.’”

“That was the last message.” Choi said, adding, “I wish at least one of them — whether it’s my daughter-in-law, son, or grandchild — had survived.”

The death of 174 people has been confirmed by the national fire agency.

The chief executive of Jeju Air, Kim E-Bae, apologized over the crash and extended his condelences to the families who lost their loved ones.

“Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the CEO,” Kim was quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency as saying.

Kim and his colleagues bowed in an apology at a news conference.

The national fire agency have confirmed the death toll at 167 so far. Officals are raising the death toll as victims arrive at the morgue, and the number is expected to rise.

Of the victims, 79 were men, 77 women and 11 others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable.

The Jeju Air Boeing 787 has been “completely destroyed by fire,” Joo Jong-wan, the Director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s transport ministry said at a briefing.

So far, two people — both cabin crew members — have been rescued, Joo said, and the runway at Muan International Airport will be closed until at least the morning of Jan. 1. Among the passengers were two were Thai nationals, he added.

Joo said investigators have retrieved both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorders, which will be key to providing insights into the last moments of the fatal landing.

The full investigation could take between six months to three years, he added.

At least 151 people have been killed in the Jeju Air crash, making it the deadliest airline disaster of the year.

It is also the first fatal crash in the history of the low-cost airline, which was founded in 2005.

The death toll from the crash has risen to 151, according to local authorities.

The Jeju Air flight was a Boeing 737-800, carrying 181 passengers and crew.

“The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” Joo Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, adding that the aircraft was “completely destroyed” in the crash.

The plane initially tried to land on the airport’s Runway 1, but the pilot was told to instead land on Runway 19 — in the opposite direction — due to a bird strike warning, Joo said.

A minute later, the pilot sent a mayday signal following the bird strike and tried to land on Runway 19. While passing over the runway, the plane struck a safety system called a localizer — which provides guidance during landing — failed to lower the landing gear and crashed into a wall, Joo said.

At least 127 people died when a commercial airplane crashed Sunday at a South Korean airport, officials said.

The Jeju Air flight veered off a runway while landing at Muan International Airport and caught fire after the crash, a spokesperson for the country’s National Fire Agency said.

The flight, which originated from Bangkok, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, said Joo Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. At least two of the passengers were Thai, Joo said.

“We suspect that the accident may have been due to the breakdown in the malfunctioning landing gear,” Lee Jung-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, said at a briefing. Lee said a bird strike and adverse weather also appeared to have played a role but cautioned that the exact cause is still under investigation.

“The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” Joo said, adding that the aircraft was “completely destroyed” in the crash.

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