Seoul: A Jeju flight from Bangkok to South Korea, with 181 onboard crash landed at the Muan International Airport in the country’s south on Sunday. The plane departed from Bangkok around 9:00 am (0000 GMT). Among the deceased were 175 passengers, including two Thai nationals and the rest were South Koreans, and four crew members. However, two cabin crew members had a miraculous escape.
The two survivors of the crash were identified as 32-year-old Lee and 25-year-old Kwon. Lee was rushed to Mokpo Korean Hospital, while Kwon was taekn to Mokpo Central Hospital. Both the survivors were reportedly seated at the rear tail section of the aircraft .This section of the commercialplane is considered to be the safest part.
Rear seats of commercial planes were safest in case of crashes, NDTV reported citing a 2015 study by TIME Magazine. The study pointed out that these seats had 32 per cent fatality rate as compared to the middle seats with 39 per cent and front seats with 38 per cent.
After the crash, both flight attendants were left in shock. As per a Korean Times report, Lee seemed to be disoriented and repeatedly asked “What happened?” and “Why am I here?”. she reportedly sustained a fractured left shoulder and head injuries. Meanwhile, Kwon reported having severe pain in ankle, abdomen and head.
According to reports, the control tower sent a warning of a bird strike during the first landing of the Boeing 737-800, operated by low-cost carrier Jeju Air.
The plane departed from Bangkok around 9:00 am (0000 GMT). Notably, moments later after the first warning, the pilot declared a “mayday” and made another landing attempt. In the footage of the incident, the pilot attempted a belly landing with the landing gear reportedly still retracted, reported AFP.
As per the initial investigation, bird strike and adverse weather conditions could have caused the crash. Meanwhile, officials dismissed reports that the accident took place due to the runway being too short. “The runway is 2,800 metres long, and similar-sized aircraft have been operating on it without issues,” officials said as quoted by AFP.
Notably, a bird strike can be dangerous to aircraft safety and jets as there can be a loss of power in aircraft if birds are sucked into the air intakes, as per the UN agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
After the Jeju plane crash, South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, also declared Muan County a special disaster zone and visited the crash site to direct search operations. Sang-mok declared a national mourning period until January 4.
