The death toll in the fatal crash of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 at South Korea’s Muan airport has risen to 122 out of the 181 aboard the jet.
According to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency, firefighting sources say that only two of the 181 aboard the aircraft (HL8088) are likely to have survived.
Footage on social media shows the aircraft flying down runway 19 at Muan without its landing gear lowered. The aircraft’s spoilers and flaps also appear to not have been deployed.
After skidding down the runway the jet veered off and exploded. Reports indicate that it hit a wall.
Another video on social media purports to show the aircraft on approach when its right side CFM56 engine spits out flame and smoke. Speculation suggests a bird strike caused this.
The aircraft had been operating flight 7C2216 from Bangkok.
Flight tracking sites stopped tracking the aircraft just south of Muan’s opposite runway 01.
“At approximately 9:03 AM on December 29, a fire broke out on Bangkok-Muan Flight 7C2216 at Muan International Airport while landing,” says Jeju Air chief executive Kim Lee-Bae.
“Above all, I would like to express my deepest condolences and apologies to the passengers and their families who lost their lives in the accident. As of now, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident, and we must wait for the official investigation announcement from the relevant government agencies. Regardless of the cause of the accident, I feel responsible as the CEO.”
The crashed aircraft had diverted two days earlier on 27 December while operating a Jeju-Beijing service. The aircraft, operating flight 7C8135, diverted to Seoul Incheon, flying back over the Yellow Sea after entering Chinese airspace above Qingdao.
The aircraft subsequently resumed service 7C8135 to Beijing, finally landing 3h behind schedule. From late on 27 December until the morning of 29 December it operated nine sectors, most of which were international, before the ill-fated Bangkok-Muan service.
