In this Associated Press photo, firefighters and rescue team members work near the wreckage of a passenger plane at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, on Dec. 29, 2024. (Yonhap)
Witnesses to a deadly plane crash in South Korea’s southwestern county of Muan on Sunday reported seeing flames in the jet’s engine and hearing explosions as authorities investigate the possibility of landing gear failure from a bird strike.
The Jeju Air flight, carrying 181 people, veered off the runway while landing and collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul, at around 9:07 a.m.
Videos aired by local TV stations show the plane attempting to land without its landing gear deployed. Officials believe the landing gear failure, possibly due to a bird strike, may have caused the accident.
Yoo Jae-yong, 41, staying at a rental house near the airport, said he saw a spark on the plane’s right wing before the crash.
“I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion,” Yoo said.
Another witness, identified only by his last name, Cho, said he was taking a stroll 4.5 kilometers from the airport when the accident occurred.
“I saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when I noticed a flash of light,” Cho said. “Then there was a loud bang followed by smoke in the air, and I heard a series of explosions.”
Flames rise from the wreckage of the Jeju Air passenger plane that crashed at the Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Dec. 29, 2024, in this photo provided by a Yonhap reader. (Yonhap)
Kim Chol, 70, said the plane failed to land on the first attempt and circled back for another before the crash.
Kim recalled he heard the sound of “metallic scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash.
Kim said he looked up at the sky and saw the plane ascending after failing to make a landing before he heard a “loud explosion” and saw “black smoke billowing into the sky.”
A 50-year-old witness fishing nearby, identified by his surname Jung, reported seeing a flock of birds colliding with the plane, which triggered a fire in the right engine.
“As the plane was landing on the runway, it hit a flock of birds approaching from the opposite direction,” he said. “I heard two or three bangs as if the birds had been sucked into the engine before I saw flames coming from the right engine.”
Police and firefighting authorities are investigating on-site to determine the exact cause. (Yonhap)