Heartbreaking news.
Authorities confirm 179 passengers dead with only two survivors in the South Korean plane crash that happened this morning.
The Boeing 737-800 flight had 181 people on board and was arriving at Muan Airport in South Korea, from Bangkok, Thailand.
All 181 people on board the plane have been accounted for with 179 killed and two rescued from the wreckage, reports Sky News.
It’s reported that all of the passengers died in the crash, along with the two pilots, and two members of the cabin crew.
The two survivors were members of the cabin crew who were rescued from the rear of the plane.
Footage obtained by BBC News appears to show the plane skidding off the runway before colliding with a wall and bursting into flames.
This marks the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.
South Korea’s transport ministry says that the plane was sent a warning about a bird strike from the control tower shortly before the deadly crash.
In a statement, Boeing said: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”
Aviation expert, Geoffrey Thomas, told BBC that a lot of things don’t make sense about the tragedy.
He explained: “It appears as though there has been a bird strike and one of the engines, the right-hand engine was impacted. This would have caused a lot of pressure in the cockpit.”
He said: “With all the checking and cross-checking going on relating to this engine failure, it could well be that [the] pilots simply forgot to put the landing gear down.”
Thomas added that if the landing gear was not deployed then warnings would have sounded in the cockpit while the undercarriage can be manually deployed if there’s a problem.
He said: “Whether the engine situation was such that they felt they didn’t have time to do that we don’t know. But they would have declared an emergency and therefore the firefighting units should have been runway-side.
“A lot of things about this tragedy don’t make sense.”
Jeju Air’s website now displays only an apology for today’s disaster, reading: “We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident. We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused.”
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