The Jeju Air 737-800 that crashed at South Korea’s Muan airport on the morning of 29 December attempted to land without its landing gear deployed.
Footage on social media shows the aircraft (HL8088) flying down the airport’s runway 19 at highspeed, landing gear up, as its tail scrapes the runway surface.
Finally, the engines and fuselage set down and the jet veers off the runway, bursting into flames.
The video also indicates that the wing was “clean”, whereas in a typical landing the 737’s spoilers and flaps are deployed.
Another video, allegedly showing the crashed aircraft on approach, suggets that its rightside CFM56 engine suffered a problem, possibly a birdstrike. As the jet flies directly overhead there is a burst of flame from the engine.
Media reports indicate that the aircraft was operating flight 7C2216 from Bangkok with 175 passenger and six crew aboard.
The latest reports indicate that 28 people aboard the aircraft are dead, with two rescued.
[속보] 무안공항 추락사고 “조류 충돌로 인한 랜딩기어 불발 추정” pic.twitter.com/Fd3O9MWym0
— Tsla Chan (@Tslachan) December 29, 2024
It is not clear if the aircraft declared an emergency before touching down. No firefighting vehicles appear to be present in the footage of the wheels-up landing. Another social media clip shows firefighting vehicles moving inside the runway grounds as a pillar of black smoke rises in the distance.
Media reports indicate that “initial fires” have been extinguished and rescue efforts continue.
FlightGlobal has reached out to Jeju Air for comment.
