A Jeju Air flight drove off the runway in South Korea and collided with a fence, leaving at least 85 passengers dead, the Associated Press reported.
The Yonhap News Agency attributed the devastating crash to malfunctioning landing gear.
Jeju Air, a low-cost airline in South Korea, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members in the Boeing 737-800 when the incident occurred Sunday morning local time at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, roughly 180 miles south of Seoul.
The plane landed at 9:07 a.m. local time at the airport when the incident happened.
According to the Associated Press, the passenger plane slammed into a concrete fence on the runway after its front landing gear failed to deploy.
The National Fire Agency said officials were still trying to pull people from the wreckage.
Horrifying footage emerging of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 (not a Max) with 175 onboard involved in a crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea — video shows the aircraft attempting a ‘belly landing’ (without its landing gear extended) before impacting the perimeter wall pic.twitter.com/C3JCUz8Iw8
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) December 29, 2024
The plane was flying back to South Korea from Thailand, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
Photos shared by local media showed smoke billowing out of the plane.
I want to see the investigators’ evidence and opinions, before I make any judgment here. The video was very inconclusive.