South Korea -- Plane carrying 181 crashes off runs off runway, 179 dead. 29 Dec 2024

[Sundog]

I hope we know soon what caused the accident (birds in engine?/mechanical failure?) and if the longer runway would have made a difference and if the pilots would have had time to get to a longer runway given what they were facing.

The families need these answers as quickly as possible to deal with this unimaginable tragedy. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones.

 

[Seattle1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1873465562153861610

 

[Chimera]

Could've been both the bird strike and/or a Boeing malfunction ?
As well as being a very old plane, fifteen years or so ?
A few posts back referenced the possibility of the landing gear malfunctioning.

In the videos, it looks like the plane glides in nearly touching the runway, and then it suddenly collapses down on the cement :

179 killed in plane crash at South Korean airport

A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 plane from Bangkok has crashed in South Korea's Muan International airport, killing passengers and crew.

www.nbcnews.com

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPsw68aPVhw

At the CNN YT (2nd link), about the the 4:24 mark, the plane looks like it suddenly slams down on it's undercarriage ?

There have been complaints from Boeing employees in the past few years.
From Reuters news :

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-sees-six-fold-rise-employee-concerns-product-safety-quality-2024-05-24/#:~:text=May%2024%20(Reuters)%20-%20Boeing,the%20planemaker%20said%20on%20Friday.

May 24 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab saw a six-fold increase in submissions from its employees raising concerns related to the safety of products and services during the first two months of 2024, compared with the same period last year, the planemaker said on Friday.
The dramatic rise in these reports occurred after an incident on Jan. 5 involving a mid-air cabin panel blowout on a newly minted Alaska Airlines (ALK.N), opens new tab 737 MAX 9 jet, Boeing said in its annual safety report.

 

[Chimera]

‘She was almost home’: Father of plane crash victim mourns his daughter

Jeon Je-Young’s daughter was among the 179 killed after a plane slammed into a wall and burst into flames after crash landing at Muan International Airport. Jeon's daughter Mi-Sook was traveling home to South Korea after spending Christmas in Bangkok with friends.

www.nbcnews.com

Jeon Je-Young’s daughter was among the 179 killed after a plane slammed into a wall and burst into flames after crash landing at Muan International Airport. Jeon's daughter Mi-Sook was traveling home to South Korea after spending Christmas in Bangkok with friends.

I don't know how this grieving dad kept his composure, talking to the reporter.
Rest in eternal peace to all who perished !
No chance to say goodbye.

I do hope they find out if it was purely an accidental bird strike or if it was a plane defect/ shoddy workmanship ?
Nothing can prevent accidents like storms or animal hits, but defects can be corrected, and then this could've maybe been preventable ?
Imo.

 

[whitelilac]

This aviation analyst actually speculates that this may have been due to pilot error, in "forgetting" to employ the landing gear. He said such an event happened in Pakistan a while back.

Between the warning and actual bird strike (btw, there are images online showing the bird strike, a flash from one of the engines, but can't presently find an MSM source), the tower's instruction to go around, then the Mayday and the tower allowing it to land but from the other end of the runway, pilots may have been completely frazzled during the small amount of time.
He also said a birdstrike in the engine does not affect the operation of the landing gear. I guess the black boxes will be telling.

(CTV News)

 

[Wallendo]

This plane was 15 years old. This is not due to a manufacturing issue. Investigators will obviously review all maintenance records.

 

[whitelilac]

Well now I am learning that the landing gear operation IS connected to the the engines where the hydraulics are controlled. But an aircraft has an auxiliary system that can be employed. However, there just wasn't enough time. Nor enough time to land on the strip from the right direction, with no wall at the end.

Second part of this report with the the pres. of aviation safety operating systems explains that. He also thinks that perhaps BOTH engines where hit by birds.
He said that a lot of info from the black boxes will be learned in the next few days.

(CBC News)

 

[DoctorRose]

It’s going to be really frustrating if they successfully landed without landing gear and then it was just the wall that caused the crash. Like you manage something really difficult and get blindsided by something else.

I feel really sad for the dad mentioned above and everyone else effected.

 

[DoctorRose]

Could've been both the bird strike and/or a Boeing malfunction ?
As well as being a very old plane, fifteen years or so ?
A few posts back referenced the possibility of the landing gear malfunctioning.

In the videos, it looks like the plane glides in nearly touching the runway, and then it suddenly collapses down on the cement :

179 killed in plane crash at South Korean airport

A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 plane from Bangkok has crashed in South Korea's Muan International airport, killing passengers and crew.

www.nbcnews.com

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPsw68aPVhw

At the CNN YT (2nd link), about the the 4:24 mark, the plane looks like it suddenly slams down on it's undercarriage ?

There have been complaints from Boeing employees in the past few years.
From Reuters news :

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-sees-six-fold-rise-employee-concerns-product-safety-quality-2024-05-24/#:~:text=May%2024%20(Reuters)%20-%20Boeing,the%20planemaker%20said%20on%20Friday.

May 24 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab saw a six-fold increase in submissions from its employees raising concerns related to the safety of products and services during the first two months of 2024, compared with the same period last year, the planemaker said on Friday.
The dramatic rise in these reports occurred after an incident on Jan. 5 involving a mid-air cabin panel blowout on a newly minted Alaska Airlines (ALK.N), opens new tab 737 MAX 9 jet, Boeing said in its annual safety report.

That video was more jarring than I expected for some reason (as in idk why I expected it to be less horrific). The plane hit that wall at like full speed.

 

[Charlot123]

This aviation analyst actually speculates that this may have been due to pilot error, in "forgetting" to employ the landing gear. He said such an event happened in Pakistan a while back.

Between the warning and actual bird strike (btw, there are images online showing the bird strike, a flash from one of the engines, but can't presently find an MSM source), the tower's instruction to go around, then the Mayday and the tower allowing it to land but from the other end of the runway, pilots may have been completely frazzled during the small amount of time.
He also said a birdstrike in the engine does not affect the operation of the landing gear. I guess the black boxes will be telling.

(CTV News)

Very interesting. I do follow pilots' comments. It seems that for such a catastrophe, several things had to happen simultaneously, which is unlikely.

Versions discussed:
1) hydraulic failure - it would affect landing gear, brakes, flaps, and flight control surfaces. Could happen (i don't know how it could be related to birds, though). However, the reverse system (which is the engines) should work. It was not on. I specifically asked AI: hydraulic failure normally should not affect the engines.
2) there is a photo showing a flash near the R wing. Potentially, one passenger texted that a bird hit the wing, but I don't have MSM for it. It is possible that a flock of birds could incapacitate both engines, but that should not affect the landing gear system. (Look up hydraulic system redundancy, emergency extension.)
3) some have commented that it looked like "belly" landing with nose looking upwards which is "the better way to land" with malfunctioning landing gear, as if the pilots knew that the landing gear was malfunctioning, but then, why no reverse braking by engines?
4) the pilots had made a circle and landed after that - maybe indeed the pilots forgot to deploy the landing gear? Has not enough time? Too much stress on them?
5) that horrible concrete barrier. I read about EMAS, basically, anything like a sand pit at the end of the runway. They are used more and more frequently. Obviously they were absent in this airport.
Engineered materials arrestor system - Wikipedia

Very unclear situation when there seems to be a chain of problems.

P.S. I looked up airports with EMAS installations in the US.

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/engineered-material-arresting-system-emas-0

 

[JennieM]

A burst of flames can be seen in an unverified video coming from the right wing engine as the plane came in to land

Bird strike 'would NOT have crippled landing gear of doomed Jeju jet'

The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people is believed to have encountered a flock of birds as it came in to land at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[LordMo]

That video was more jarring than I expected for some reason (as in idk why I expected it to be less horrific). The plane hit that wall at like full speed.

yeah I watched it and I don't know why I did, even for an accident video (which I usually don't watch!) it was really upsetting.

 

[sunspun]

An aviation expert speaks in this Sky News segment. He states that the belly landing was perfectly executed, but what caused this devastating crash was the solid structure at the end of the runway. Normally there is a run off area at the end of a runway to mitigate any issues with speed.
So tragic.

(Sky News)

That's exactly my question: why is that wall even there??

 

[JennieM]

Five victims' bodies released and families camp out in airport
​

Jake Kwon
Reporting from Muan International Airport

Warning: This post contains graphic details

The local police official - called Na - told families waiting in the airport that they will have more results tomorrow morning.

Some families asked him why five bodies had been released, while the remaining 173 victims have not been returned to their grieving relatives.

Na replied that the five bodies released were the only ones that were intact.

“Can you promise that they will be put back together?” one man asked Na, following the news that the bodies of many victims are very badly damaged.

Some of these families have camped out overnight in emergency tents, which have been put up in the airport's departure hall, providing some privacy.

Image caption,
Emergency tents have been set up in the airport, providing some privacy and respite for the grieving families

South Korea plane crash latest: Crash victims' families criticise lack of updates as investigators search plane debris

Some 179 people were killed in the Jeju Air crash in South Korea on Sunday, with the precise cause still unclear.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

South Korea's acting president consoles families at airport​

Image caption,
Acting president Choi, in the centre wearing a green jacket, meets families at the airport

Yesterday’s tragedy in South Korea comes after the country’s president Yoon Suk Yeol has been suspended after he declared martial law at the start of this month. MPs have since voted to impeach him.

Yesterday, Yoon Suk Yeol offered "deep condolences" to the families of those who died in the plane crash.

Our BBC team at the Muan International Airport has seen acting president Choi Sang-mok in the terminal, shaking hands and consoling families.

Earlier on, the acting president ordered an emergency safety inspectionof the country’s entire airline operation system.

South Korea plane crash latest: Crash victims' families criticise lack of updates as investigators search plane debris

Some 179 people were killed in the Jeju Air crash in South Korea on Sunday, with the precise cause still unclear.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

A timeline of the crash

It was just after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) yesterday when news broke of a plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

Here’s how events unfolded at the crash scene, where 179 people were killed:

08:54: Muan airport air traffic control authorises flight 7C2216 to land on runway 01

08:57: Air traffic control gives a cautionary advisory about “bird activity”

08:59: The aircraft reports a bird strike, and declares a “Mayday” emergency

09:01: Air traffic control authorises the aircraft to land in a different spot - on runway 19 - approaching from the opposite end of the airport’s single runway

09:02: The flight makes contact with the ground about a third of the way down the runway. Moments later, air traffic control alerts the crash bell at the airport’s fire rescue unit

09:03: Flight 7C2216 crashes into an embankment after overshooting the runway

09:23: A male victim is rescued and transported to a temporary medical facility

09:38: Muan airport is closed

09:50: A second victim - who we now know to be female - is rescued from the tail section of the plane and taken to hospital

21:15: After updates on the death tally through the day, it’s confirmed that all 175 passengers on board were killed, along with four flight staff

 

[JennieM]

In the aftermath, the search for the cause continues
​

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
In the aftermath
of the plane crash, officials have been searching through the debris as an investigation into what caused the fatal incident has been launched - with assistance from the US.

Reports have been circulating that a bird strike, a collision between a plane in flight and a bird, is a possible factor. At 08:59 yesterday morning, as we've just reported in our timeline, air traffic control gave a cautionary warning about bird activity, minutes later the plane crash-landed.

Video footage shows that the plane touched down without wheels or any other landing gear and skidded down the runway.

When a plane crashes, black boxes - sometimes known as flight recorders - are the key source of information for investigators.

These recorders store data including fuel, speed and trajectory as well as conversations within the cockpit and with air traffic control.

An investigator has suggested this data may take up to a month to decode due to damage.

South Korea plane crash latest: Crash victims' families criticise lack of updates as investigators search plane debris

Some 179 people were killed in the Jeju Air crash in South Korea on Sunday, with the precise cause still unclear.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Victims' families demand more government support

As South Korea's interim president meets with victims families', their representative is pushing for more support from the country's government.

Park Han Shin's brother died in the crash, and he is now representing the families of the other 178 who died. He has demanded that more experts be brought in to help with identification.

"We want [the government] to recover our families 100% or at least 80% as soon as possible," he tells reporters.

And, with some families losing multiple members in the crash, the representative says compensation from Jeju Air is needed immediately.

"The only way for bereaved families to feel that (Jeju Air) has done everything it can is to help bereaved families financially," he explains.

"Parents of a family have passed away. There are only kids left and how can they live on their own? This is something neither the province officials nor the government can help with."

South Korea plane crash latest: Crash victims' families criticise lack of updates as investigators search plane debris

Some 179 people were killed in the Jeju Air crash in South Korea on Sunday, with the precise cause still unclear.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

'DNA sampling of victims will not be immediate', head of investigation says​

The head of the investigation into the plane crash, Na Won-Oh, has called for patience as testing on victims' bodies is carried out.

"The National Forensic Service (NFS) is focusing its full efforts on this," he says. "But DNA analysis is not as immediate as taking a fingerprint and getting an instant result.

"Samples need to be collected, cultured, and then analysed to produce results. This means that each step requires physical time to complete."

South Korea plane crash latest: Crash victims' families criticise lack of updates as investigators search plane debris

Some 179 people were killed in the Jeju Air crash in South Korea on Sunday, with the precise cause still unclear.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Who are the plane crash victims and survivors?
​

We've just reported that DNA samples "will not be immediate". Officials have been collecting saliva samples from family members gathered at Muan Airport to help identify bodies of victims. Other victims have been identified by their fingerprints.

Authorities have so far identified 141 bodies.

Five of the people who died were children under the age of 10. The youngest passenger was a three-year-old boy and the oldest was 78, authorities said, citing the passenger manifest.

South Korea's National Fire Agency said two members of flight crew - a man and a woman - survived the crash. They were found in the tail side of the aircraft after the crash and taken to hospital, it said.

The man has woken up and is "fully able to communicate," according to Yonhap, which cites the director of the Seoul hospital where he is being treated.

South Korea plane crash latest: Crash victims' families criticise lack of updates as investigators search plane debris

Some 179 people were killed in the Jeju Air crash in South Korea on Sunday, with the precise cause still unclear.

www.bbc.co.uk