South Korea plane crash: air traffic controllers warned about bird strike minutes before accident feared to have killed 176 | South Korea

Death toll rises to 176, officials say

Raphael Rashid

The death toll from Sunday’s Jeju Air crash has climbed to 176, with three people still missing, South Korea’s fire agency has announced.

Search teams will continue working through the night to locate the remaining three missing persons. Only two crew members are understood to have survived.

Investigators recover both black boxes from wreckage of plane – transport ministry

Raphael Rashid

According to the transport ministry, investigators have recovered both black boxes from the wreckage: the cockpit voice recorder at 11:30 and the flight data recorder at 14:24. Eight aircraft accident investigators and nine aviation safety inspectors are conducting initial investigations at the scene.

More than 1,500 personnel have been mobilised for the rescue and recovery operation, including 490 firefighters, 455 police officers, and 340 military personnel.

The airport’s runway will remain closed until 05:00 on 1 January 2025, though this timeframe may be adjusted.

A temporary morgue has been set up at the airport, with authorities working with families to arrange transfers of identified victims to external facilities.

Officials say air traffic controllers warned aircraft about bird strike risks minutes before crash

Raphael Rashid

Raphael Rashid is reporting for the Guardian from Seoul

A bird strike has emerged as a possible factor in Sunday’s crash, after officials revealed that air traffic controllers warned the aircraft about bird strike risks minutes before the accident and one of the surviving crew members reportedly mentioned a bird strike after being rescued. While the exact cause remains under investigation, the incident has drawn attention to Muan International Airport’s history with such incidents, reports Yonhap News.

The airport has recorded the highest rate of bird strikes among South Korea’s 14 regional airports, with 10 incidents reported between 2019 and August this year, according to data submitted to parliament by the Korea Airports Corporation.

Though the absolute number is small, making it difficult to generalise into meaningful statistics, the strike rate of 0.09% of flights is significantly higher than other major airports like Gimpo (0.018%) and Jeju (0.013%).

Aviation experts say bird strikes can be catastrophic – a single mallard duck weighing 900g hitting an aircraft travelling at 370km/h can reportedly generate an impact force of 4.8 tonnes. The risk is particularly high at Muan due to its location near fields and coastal areas.

Nationwide bird strike incidents have been steadily increasing, from 108 in 2019 to 152 last year. Some suggest this rise could be linked to climate change, with migratory birds becoming permanent residents and shifts occurring in both the timing and species of birds appearing at airports. Airports employ various countermeasures including sound deterrents and monitoring systems, while some are now exploring AI and radar technology to track bird movements.

As we have mentioned in previous posts, fire authorities have reportedly said all but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 that veered off a runway and hit a wall at South Korea’s Muan international airport are presumed to have died.

More than 1,500 emergency personnel have been deployed for the huge recovery effort, including 490 fire employees and 455 police officers, according to the BBC.

Emergency rescue workers are trying to locate the remains of those who remain unaccounted for, while the bodies of those recovered so far are being housed in a temporary mortuary close to the crash site, the Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper is reporting.

Authorities are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun has told journalists in a media briefing. “Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognise,” he said.

Raphael Rashid

South Korea’s rival political parties have each launched separate initiatives to respond to the disaster, apparently shifting focus from their ongoing political animosity.

The opposition Democratic party leader, Lee Jae-myung, has departed for Muan where he plans to remain indefinitely to support rescue efforts, reports Hankyoreh, though he plans to stay at the party’s provincial office rather than visit the crash site while recovery operations continue. The party has established an emergency response committee led by Joo Cheol-hyeon, who chairs their South Jeolla provincial chapter.

Meanwhile, the ruling People Power party has formed a task force focused on investigating the crash and supporting victims’ families. The party’s acting leader, Kweon Seong-dong, announced he would visit Muan on Monday with task force members to “review accident response measures and prevention strategies” and meet with bereaved families.

Both party initiatives come amid unprecedented political turmoil in South Korea. The country’s president was suspended earlier this month after declaring martial law, and his acting replacement was then impeached by the opposition-controlled parliament last week, leaving the finance minister as the current acting president. The rapid-fire impeachments reflect the bitter political battle between the ruling and opposition parties that has paralysed much of the country’s governance.

• A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok carrying 181 passengers and crew crashed shortly after 9am local time (00:00 GMT) while attempting a landing at Muan international airport in south-western South Korea on Sunday morning.

• All but two of the people onboard Flight 7C2216 are presumed dead, according to local fire authorities. Two survivors, both reportedly crew members, were pulled from the tail section and are receiving treatment for “moderate to severe” injuries at a nearby hospital. Rescue workers have retrieved 120 bodies; a further 59 are missing.

• Among the 175 passengers aboard the flight, 173 were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals, officials have said.

• The Boeing 737-800 attempted a belly landing at about 9.03am local time after its landing gear reportedly failed to deploy. The aircraft was seen skidding along the runway before hitting the airport’s perimeter wall, breaking into two pieces at the front and tail sections and bursting into flames.

• The cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed, though a bird strike and weather conditions have been pointed to as possibilities. Local broadcaster MBC aired footage that appears to show a bird strike incident as the plane was descending, and one of the two survivors reportedly told rescue workers that the aircraft had experienced a bird strike. Witnesses reported hearing loud “bang” noises before the aircraft struck the wall. Officials have also said weather conditions may have played a role. Investigators have recovered the flight data recorder, while the cockpit voice recorder is still being sought.

• If the death toll is confirmed, it would be South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster and marks the first major casualty incident involving a low-cost carrier in the country’s history.

• South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has arrived at the scene approximately 300km south-west of Seoul and has ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operations at the airport. ‘“No words of consolation will be enough for the families who have suffered such a tragedy,” he said at the scene.

• Jeju Air chief executive, Kim E-bae, has issued official apology saying: “Above all, we express our deepest condolences and apologies to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in this accident. At present, the cause of the accident is difficult to determine, and we must await the official investigation results from the relevant government agencies. Regardless of the cause, as CEO, I feel profound responsibility for this incident.”

• A spokesperson for Boeing told the Guardian: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”

Raphael Rashid

Heartbreaking scenes unfolded at Muan International Airport as more than 100 family members gathered in a meeting room to receive updates about their loved ones, reports Yonhap News. When Lee Jeong-hyeon, the chief of Muan fire station, told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room erupted in wails of grief.

“Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” one family member asked, to which the fire chief could only bow his head and reply, “I’m so sorry, but that’s what it’s looking like”.

Some families expressed anger at what they saw as delayed responses from authorities and the airline. They had pleaded to be allowed near the crash site since this morning, but were denied access due to the restricted nature of the airport zone.

When the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, visited the airport, families reportedly surrounded him demanding real-time updates and pleading: “Please think of the families first”.

Choi could only bow repeatedly while saying, “I understand”.

Raphael Rashid

Transport ministry officials have revealed a critical six-minute sequence before the crash, reports Yonhap News. At 08:57, air traffic controllers warned the approaching aircraft about bird strike risks. One minute later, at 08:58, the pilot declared a “mayday”. The plane attempted to land at 09:00 and crashed at 09:03.

One of the two surviving crew members has reportedly corroborated initial theories about the cause, telling rescue workers immediately after being pulled from the wreckage that the aircraft had experienced a bird strike, according to fire officials.

The transport ministry has confirmed that investigators have recovered the flight data recorder, while the cockpit voice recorder is still being sought.

The National Police Agency has deployed 169 forensic investigators to help identify victims. Separately, 579 officers have been deployed to assist with search operations and escort emergency vehicles at the crash site.

120 bodies recovered from crash site, says fire agency

Raphael Rashid

Fire authorities have recovered 120 bodies from the Jeju Air crash site at Muan International Airport, with 59 people still missing, according to South Korea’s national fire agency. Officials say the death toll so far includes 54 men, 57 women, and nine victims whose gender could not be immediately determined.

Rescue teams have divided the crash site into three zones as they continue to search for the remaining victims. However, fire officials told families at a briefing in the airport terminal that survival chances for the missing passengers are “virtually none” due to the severity of the crash and subsequent fire.

Only two people have reportedly survived the crash after being rescued from the aircraft’s tail section. They were rushed to a nearby hospital with “moderate to severe” injuries.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operating as flight 7C2216 from Bangkok, was attempting what officials described as a “belly landing” after experiencing landing gear problems. The plane struck airport perimeter structures and broke apart, with most of the fuselage being consumed by fire.

According to local media reports, many of the passengers were families returning from Christmas package holidays in Thailand. The flight was carrying 175 passengers (173 South Koreans and two Thai nationals), along with six crew members.