More than 170 killed after South Korean jet crash-lands at airport. Here’s what we know

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — Scores of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.

Just two of the 181 people on board the plane survived, after the deaths of 179 people were confirmed, according to the local fire department. The two crew members were pulled alive from the crash site.

It is the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997, when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed in the Guam jungle, with the loss of 228 lives.

Families of the victims have gathered to mourn their loved ones as new details are emerging of the moments before the crash.

Here’s what we know:

What happened?

Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when disaster struck at the airport in Muan county, on the country’s southwestern tip, 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 on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball.

Neither the back nor front landing gear was visible in the footage – broadcast by networks including YTN, JTBC and MBC – as smoke poured from the back of the sliding aircraft.

Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the blazing wreckage of the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800. Several parts of the aircraft were also seen strewn across the runway.

Experts told CNN that the plane’s undercarriage – specifically, the wheels used for takeoff and landing – appeared not to have fully deployed before landing. But what caused this failure to deploy is still unclear. Aviation analysts say more evidence is needed before South Korean authorities can definitively pinpoint what might have caused Sunday’s crash.

In a briefing on Monday, South Korean officials confirmed that the pilot reported a bird strike before he made the doomed emergency landing.

“The pilot reported an emergency declaration and go-around due to a bird strike,” Kang Jung-hyun, a senior official at the Transport Ministry, told reporters. The pilot declared “mayday, mayday, mayday” three times and used the terms “bird strike” and “go-around,” the official said.

The transport ministry said the control tower had warned the pilot of birds in the area shortly before the pilot reported a bird strike and declared mayday. The pilot asked to land in the opposite direction, the ministry said, clarifying comments made Sunday that the control tower had instructed the pilot to change course shortly after he declared mayday.

The landing attempt occurred about two minutes after the mayday call, according to the ministry.

A “go-around” is an aviation term that means a landing is aborted when a plane is making a final approach and instead the pilot will increase speed and ascend before attempting another approach or diverting elsewhere.

Uncertainty remains as to what exactly went wrong as some aviation experts question how much impact a bird strike could have had in bringing down the Jeju Air plane.

Sunday’s crash is “very perplexing” given that both the aircraft and carrier have a strong safety record and flying conditions were excellent, an aviation journalist said.

The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world and each one is used for about four or five flights per day, Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, told CNN’s Paula Newton, adding that the maintenance done in (South) Korea is “as good as it gets around the world.”

“It’s a little bit unclear whether or not the undercarriage collapsed on landing or whether the undercarriage was not deployed at all. This is a really serious issue that obviously investigators will be very much focused on,” Thomas added.

Jeju Air’s chief executive said Sunday the aircraft had shown “no signs of issues” prior to Sunday’s accident.

“At this time, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident, and we have to wait for the official announcement of the investigation by the relevant government agency,” Kim Yi-bae said during a press briefing at the airport.

Where is the investigation focused?

Officers from the national Incident Investigation Committee had arrived to look into what caused the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading a team of US investigators, including from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to assist South Korean authorities with their investigation of the crash. The NTSB said any information about the investigation would be released by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB).

Two so-called “black boxes” – the flight data and voice recorders – have been recovered from the crash site, according to a briefing by the Transport Ministry. But the flight recorder suffered external damage that required it to be sent to an analysis center in Seoul to see how much information could be extracted and whether it needed to be sent to the United States, the ministry said.

The black boxes offer aviation safety investigators critical facts when piecing together an incident.

The transport ministry said the head pilot on the flight had held the role since 2019 and had about 6,800 hours of flight experience.

More than 700 personnel from the police, military, and coast guard have been mobilized for on-site response efforts, the ministry added.

South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has declared seven days of national mourning and ordered an investigation into the country’s entire airline system.

“We will transparently disclose the progress of the investigation into the accident, even before the final results are released, and keep the bereaved families informed,” Choi said Monday at a disaster control meeting in Seoul.

The Transport Ministry will also inspect all Boeing 737-800 planes – the same model as the one that crashed – operating in the country, according to Deputy Transport Minister Joo Jong-wan.

A total of 101 planes of the same model used by six airlines are subject to the latest inspection with authorities looking at each plane’s maintenance record on major parts, including the engine and landing gear, Joo said.

What are the authorities saying?

South Korea’s acting president declared the site of Sunday’s plane crash a special disaster zone as he expressed heartbreak over the tragedy.

Choi, who travelled to the crash site on Sunday, extended his “heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families” and pledged to make every effort to manage the aftermath of the incident and prevent similar accidents in future.

The tragedy comes only 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 following a short-lived martial law order that plunged the country into political disarray. He is suspended while a top court decides his fate.

Han Duck-soo, the man who stepped in to replace Yoon as acting president, was impeached by parliament on Friday, meaning Choi – the finance minister and deputy prime minister – stepped in for him.

Boeing also extended 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 short statement posted to its X account.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the company added.

The US aviation giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, a tragedy for which the company agreed to plead guilty to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the plane.

However, analysts have described the Boeing 737-800 — an earlier and different model to the Max — as a reliable workhorse of the skies with an extremely strong safety record.

What the families have said

The victims of Sunday’s crash include 84 males, 85 females, and 10 people whose gender could not be determined, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service. Both of the survivors were crew members, one man and one woman, pulled from the wreckage, according to the rescue team.

Two Thai nationals were among those on board, according to the transport ministry. All other passengers were South Korean.

Authorities have so far identified 146 of the 179 victims, while efforts are underway to identify the remaining 33 bodies, according to Transport Ministry.

The scene inside Muan International Airport has been one of heartbreak and anguish as relatives and loved ones waited for news. Many of those gathered burst into tears or cried out as authorities read victims’ names out loud, video footage from Reuters showed.

In the airport’s departure hall, some families were seen wrapped in each other’s embrace, weeping, while several monks spoke to gathered groups. Rows of yellow tents stood erected for people who had stayed overnight. Several relatives could be seen yelling at officials, demanding more information.

A father of one of the Thai victims, Boonchuay Duangmanee, told the Associated Press he “never thought that this would be the last time we would see each other forever.”

His daughter, Jongluk, had been working in a factory in South Korea for several years, he told the AP. She had been back in Thailand visiting family before departing on the flight from Bangkok to Muan International Airport.

“I heard that the plane exploded in Korea this morning. But I did not expect at all that my daughter would be on this flight,” he said.

Another man who lost his daughter told Reuters he had not heard from her before the crash.

“She was almost home so she didn’t feel the need to make a call,” 71-year-old Jeon Je-Young said of his daughter Jeon Mi-Sook.

“She thought she was coming home. I figure in those last moments when she did try to reach out, the damage had already been done and the plane had probably crashed,” he said.

Mourners have also begun laying flowers and candles at a public memorial altar set up in Muan to honor victims of the crash.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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