Dozens of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger plane made an emergency landing at an airport in southwestern South Korea, flying on its belly down the runway before bursting into flames.
At least 122 people have been killed so far, according to the local fire brigade. Two people, both crew members, were taken alive from the crash site, but rescuers have warned there is little hope of finding any further survivors.
It is the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997, when a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 crashed in the jungles of Guam, killing 228 people.
What happened?
Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members when disaster struck at the airport in Muan province, on the southwestern tip of the country, just after 9 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. ET Saturday).
Footage of Sunday's crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed the plane sliding onto its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting into a fireball.
Neither the front nor rear landing gear were visible in the footage – broadcast by networks including YTN, JTBC and MBC – as smoke poured from the back of the gliding plane.
Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the burning wreckage of the plane, which was listed on flight tracking site FlightAware as a Boeing 737-800. Several parts of the plane were also seen scattered across the runway.
According to the South Jeolla Fire Department, the victims included 54 men, 57 women and 11 people whose gender could not be determined. According to the rescue team, both survivors were crew members, a man and a woman.
South Korea's Land Ministry said two Thai nationals were among those on board. All other passengers were South Korean.
What caused the accident?
Experts told CNN that the plane's undercarriage — specifically the wheels used for takeoff and landing — did not appear to be fully deployed before landing. But what caused this failed deployment is still unclear.
Aviation analysts said more evidence is needed before South Korean authorities can definitively determine what might have caused Sunday's crash, including speculation from local officials about a possible bird strike before the emergency landing.
The comments came after Muan Fire Department chief Lee Jeong-hyun informed the media that the cause was “estimated to be the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather.” Images of the crash showed clear skies at the time.
David Soucie, a former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector, said that “speculation is an investigator's worst enemy.”
“That's why when there's an aircraft accident investigation, it's so protected, the information is protected. They're not supposed to speculate on these kinds of things,” Soucie told CNN's Paula Newton.
Aviation industry adviser Scott Hamilton echoed Soucie's concerns and urged South Korean authorities to “stop making statements” at this stage.
Firefighters and rescue team members work on the runway of Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Sunday, December 29, 2024. (Lee Young-ju/Newsis via AP) – Lee Young-ju/Newsis/AP
Sunday's crash is “very baffling” as both the plane and the airline have strong safety records and flying conditions were excellent, an aviation journalist said.
The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world, each used for about four or five flights a day, Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, told CNN's Paula Newton.
“It is the most reliable aircraft in the world and it has been in service for 20 years,” he said. “Everyone knows how it works. And it works really well. And the maintenance is done [South] Korea is as good as it gets around the world.”
“It is a bit unclear whether the undercarriage collapsed upon landing or whether the undercarriage was not deployed at all. This is a very serious issue that investigators will obviously be very focused on,” Thomas added.
He added: “It is baffling” that the crash occurred as it landed at a good airport in dry and sunny conditions.
Jeju Air's CEO said the plane showed “no signs of trouble” before Sunday's accident.
“At this time, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident and we must wait for the official announcement of the investigation by the relevant government agency,” Kim Yi-bae said at a news conference at the airport.
What is the research aimed at?
Officers from the National Incident Investigation Committee had arrived to investigate the cause of the accident.
According to a Ministry of Land briefing, the control tower had instructed the pilot to change course and land in the opposite direction, to avoid a possible bird strike. The pilot followed the instructions.
About a minute later the pilot made a distress call to the tower. According to the ministry, the landing attempt took place about two minutes after the Mayday call. Authorities continue their investigation.
The “black box” flight data recorder has been recovered by the accident investigation committee, while the voice recording device has not yet been recovered, ministry officials said.
The flight data recorders or so-called 'black boxes' provide aviation safety investigators with critical facts when piecing together an incident.
More than 700 personnel from the police, military and coast guard have been mobilized for response efforts on the ground, the ministry added.
What do the authorities say?
South Korea's acting president said the site of Sunday's plane crash has been declared a special disaster zone as he vowed to conduct a full investigation into the cause of the deadly disaster.
“We will concentrate all resources on recovery and support for the victims. All necessary resources are being mobilized and a special disaster area has been declared,” Choi Sang-mok said in a statement.
Choi, who traveled to the crash site on Sunday, expressed his “sincere condolences to the relatives” and vowed to make every effort to manage the aftermath of the incident and prevent similar accidents in the future.
The tragedy comes just two days into Choi's acting presidency, the latest chapter in a time of political chaos in South Korea.
The country's current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was stripped of his powers by parliament two weeks ago after a short-lived martial law plunged the country into political disarray. He is currently suspended while a top court decides his fate.
Han Duck-soo, the man who replaced Yoon as acting president, was impeached by parliament on Friday, meaning Choi – the finance minister and deputy prime minister – stepped in for him.
Rescue workers take part in a recovery operation at the site where a plane crashed after going off the runway at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on December 29, 2024. – Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
What did the maker of the plane say?
Boeing offered its condolences to those who lost loved ones in the crash.
“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said in a brief statement on its X account.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the company added.
The US aerospace giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two crashes of the 737 Max, a tragedy for which the company agreed to plead guilty to misleading the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the plane.
However, analysts have described the Boeing 737-800 as a reliable workhorse in the air with an extremely strong safety record.
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