Killing over 170 Passengers.
Monrovia, Liberia – A jet crashed Sunday morning as it was landing in South Korea, killing over 170 passengers.
At Muan International Airport, terrifying video footage shows the Jeju Air jet taking off from the runway, hitting a barrier, and catching fire. According to the BBC, two crew members were recovered from the wreckage, but 179 of the 181 passengers on board the jet, which was returning from Bangkok, Thailand, have died.
Authorities are looking into what caused the accident, which fire authorities say could have been caused by severe weather and a bird hit. However, experts have cautioned that a variety of circumstances might have contributed to the collapse, the BBC report.
The Boeing 737-800, flight number 7C2216, was flown by Jeju Air, the major low-cost airline in Korea.
Three minutes before a warning concerning bird activity in the region was issued, air traffic control approved the plane’s landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday at around 08:54 local time (23:54 GMT).
It is reported that the pilot announced “mayday mayday mayday” and “bird strike, bird strike, go-around” after the jet had collided with a bird at 08:59. The pilot then asked for permission to land from the opposite direction after abandoning the initial landing attempt.
The alternate landing was approved by air traffic control at 09:01; the plane touched down at 09:02, almost halfway down the 2,800-meter runway.
The plane seems to touch down without the use of its wheels or any other landing gear in one footage. Before exploding into flames, it slid down the runway, overshot it, and collided with a wall.
A witness reported hearing a “loud bang” and then a “series of explosions” to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
The plane is seen burning and smoke rising into the sky in footage taken at the scene. Later, firefighters put out the fire.
At around 09:23, the first of two survivors was pulled from the wreckage, and at approximately 09:50, the second was pulled from inside the plane’s tail section.
Photo credit: Reuters, EPA, BBC
