Officials said air traffic controllers alerted the plane to the risk of a bird strike minutes before the crash.
Rafael Rashid
Rafael Rashid reports for the Guardian from Seoul.
It comes after authorities revealed that air traffic controllers had warned planes about the dangers of bird strikes minutes before the crash, and that one of the surviving crew members had mentioned bird strikes after being rescued. , a bird strike has been floated as a possible factor in Sunday’s crash. Although the exact cause is still under investigation, the incident has focused attention on the history of such incidents at Muan International Airport, Yonhap News reported.
According to data submitted to Congress by the Korea Airports Corporation, the airport has the highest incidence of bird strikes among South Korea’s 14 regional airports, with 10 incidents reported from 2019 to August of this year. .
Although the absolute numbers are small and it is difficult to generalize to meaningful statistics, the flight strike rate of 0.09% is significantly higher than other major airports such as Gimpo Airport (0.018%) and Jeju Island (0.013%). is expensive.
Aviation experts say bird strikes can cause catastrophe. Muan is particularly at risk due to its proximity to fields and coastal areas.
Bird strike incidents nationwide have been steadily increasing, from 108 in 2019 to 152 last year. Some have suggested that this increase may be related to climate change, with migratory birds becoming permanent residents and changes in both the timing and types of birds that appear at airports. Airports have put in place a range of measures, including acoustic deterrents and surveillance systems, and some are currently exploring AI and radar technology to track bird movements.
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Updated at 05.35 ET
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“I was heartbroken to hear about the tragedy that occurred this morning at Muan Airport,” U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg said on social media. British Ambassador Colin Crooks wrote: “My deepest sympathies go out to the families of those who lost their lives in this morning’s horrific air crash in Muan.”
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According to fire officials, of the 177 bodies found so far, authorities have identified 88. The passengers were mainly Korean, and there were also two Thai nationals. Many of the passengers had just returned from spending Christmas in Thailand.
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Rafael Rashid
Rafael Rashid reports for the Guardian from Seoul.
Suspended South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is currently facing an impeachment trial over his failure to declare martial law earlier this month, posted on Facebook, “I would like to express my deepest condolences to those who lost their precious lives and to the families who lost their loved ones.” ” wrote the message. ”.
“I’m devastated and heartbroken,” Yun said. “I believe that the government will do its best to manage the accident and support the victims. I will work with the people to overcome this difficult situation as soon as possible.”
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a message released through the Tokyo Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of so many precious lives.” This follows similar messages of condolence from countries including China, the UK and Ukraine.
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One of the two survivors is awake and responsive in the hospital.
One of the two survivors of a plane crash that killed 179 people on Sunday told doctors that he had “already been rescued” when he woke up in hospital, Yonhap News reported.
The 33-year-old survivor, known as Lee, was working as a flight attendant on the Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday morning.
Emergency crews initially took Lee to a hospital in Mokpo, a city near southern Seoul, but later transferred her to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in the capital.
According to Joo Eun, director of the hospital, the man told doctors at the hospital that he had already been rescued by the time he woke up.
“He is completely communicative,” Ju said. “There are no signs of memory loss or anything like that yet.”
Doctors diagnosed Lee with multiple fractures and a risk of paralysis, and he is currently in intensive care.
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Updated on 09.06 ET
Reports say it could take a month to decode the plane’s black box
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said one of the two black boxes recovered from the Jeju plane that crashed in South Korea on Sunday was partially damaged.
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism officials said the damage is likely to delay analysis to determine the cause of the accident.
The official added, “It could take about a month just to decipher FDR.”
“If it’s difficult to decipher here, we may have to send it to the NTSB,” the second official said. “There are cases from all over the world to analyze, so it can take a considerable amount of time.”
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Updated on 09.11 ET
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “deeply saddened” by the Jeju Air crash in South Korea.
“My deepest condolences to the people of South Korea and Thailand, and to all those who have lost loved ones,” Ramy wrote in a post on X.
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Updated on 08.34 ET
Jongluk Dungmanee, 49, a cousin of a Thai passenger who was on the Jeju Air plane that caused the fatal accident, said he was “sad” and “shocked.”
Pornpichaya Charelmsin, from Udon Thani’s Nong Wasaw district, told the BBC that her cousin Jongluk had been living in South Korea for five years with their two children, aged 7 and 15. She and her Korean husband work in agriculture and got married three years ago. years ago.
In an interview with BBC Thai, she said, “I have only seen news like this in other countries, and I never thought that Thai people would be involved.” It hurt,” he added.
“I was shocked and had goosebumps. I couldn’t believe it… I was even more surprised when I saw on the news that one of the victims was from Udon Thani.”
Before her flight on Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, Jongluk had visited family in Thailand and traveled to Chiang Mai with her husband. Her husband returned to Korea before she left.
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Jeju Air declined to comment on the cause of the accident at a press conference, saying it was investigating. Under global aviation regulations, South Korea will lead the civil investigation into the crash, and the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, where the plane was designed and manufactured, will also automatically be involved.
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Below are some of the latest images sent to us by news agencies.
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All passengers and four crew members killed in Jeju Air crash, authorities admit
179 people died and two people were rescued from a passenger plane carrying 181 people that crashed at Muan International Airport this morning, Yonhap News reported, citing rescue authorities. This means that authorities have confirmed that all 175 passengers and four flight staff members on the plane died in the crash. South Korean fire authorities announced that 65 of the 179 people who died have been identified. The two surviving crew members were extracted from the rear of the plane with “moderate to severe” injuries, authorities said. This was the worst air disaster to occur in South Korea, surpassing the 1993 Asiana Airlines crash in Mokpo, which killed more than 60 people.
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Updated at 07:53 EST
Rafael Rashid
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences to South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok over the deadly Jeju Air crash. Shocked by the large number of casualties, President Xi expressed his deep condolences to the victims, condolences to their bereaved families, and expressed his hope for the early recovery of the injured.
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South Korea declares seven days of national mourning over plane crash
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has declared a period of national mourning until January 4 over the passenger plane crash at Muan International Airport that killed 177 people.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in this unexpected tragedy,” he said. Flags at government offices will be lowered and civil servants will wear black ribbons, the BBC reported.
The incident marks the first major test for Choi, who took office on Friday after South Korea’s parliament passed a resolution to impeach former acting president Han Deok-soo.
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Updated on 07.11 ET
What we know so far…
At least 177 people were killed on Sunday when a plane from Bangkok crashed while landing at Muan International Airport just after 9 a.m. local time (midnight GMT) in South Korea’s worst-ever air disaster.
There were 181 people on board the plane at the time of the crash, including six crew members.
Two crew members were rescued from the wreckage and taken to hospital. They suffered “moderate to severe” injuries, authorities said. Officials indicated that the remaining people on board were presumed dead.
According to a report by the Korea Fire and Disaster Management Agency, 84 women, 82 men and 11 others whose gender could not be immediately determined were killed. Two people were still missing nine hours after the incident.
The youngest passenger was a 3-year-old boy and the oldest was 78 years old, authorities said. Five people who died in the accident were children under the age of 10.
Local fire officials said the crash may have been caused by a bird strike and weather conditions, but the exact cause is not yet known.
The plane involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air.
Department of Transportation officials said workers recovered flight data and a cockpit voice recorder from the plane’s black box. These will be investigated by government experts. The runway is expected to remain closed until January 1st.
Jeju Air CEO Kim Ae-bae bowed deeply in a video conference and apologized for the accident. He said the plane had no record of an accident and there were no early signs of failure.
More than 1,500 emergency personnel have been dispatched to the scene and a special disaster zone has been established.
Click here to learn more about the latest developments.
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Updated on 06.37 ET
