Jeju Air crash leaves several families mourning
Jeju Air Flight 2216’s deadly crash in South Korea killed 179 victims on Dec. 29. The Boeing 737-800, operated by Jeju Air, was a scheduled international flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand to Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea.
During its landing at the Muan International Airport, the plane suffered from a bird strike when it hit an airborne animal. The pilots issued an alert, returned to the air and attempted to land for a second time. However, this time the landing gear failed to deploy, causing the aircraft to land on its belly beyond the normal touchdown zone. The plane exploded after it crashed into a concrete structure at the end of the runway, killing all 175 passengers and four of six crew members.
The two surviving cabin crew sat in the rear end of the plane, which detached from the plane’s body, and were rescued with injuries. One member suffered from a fractured shoulder and head injuries, and the other from a fractured ankle and scalp cuts.
Officials identified the victims’ bodies through fingerprints and DNA using saliva samples collected from family members. The passengers on the flight aged between 3-years-old to 78-years-old, with the majority being in their 40s, 50s and 60s. All were South Korean except for two Thai nationals.
At a press conference on Dec. 31, Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae declared that the airline was preparing compensation for the victims’ families and would cover funeral costs. New Year’s celebrations across South Korea were cancelled or minimized out of respect for the victims and their families, and authorities announced a seven-day period of national mourning for the losses.
This is the first fatal accident in Jeju Air’s history of 19 years flying. The tragedy also marks the most destructive crash involving a Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft and is one of the deadliest aviation disasters to have occurred on South Korean soil.
