Jeju Air is a budget-friendly and most famous airline in South Korea. Jeju International Airport is main base of this airline. It connects Jeju Island with Asian countries and also with the major countries of South Korea. This airline is famous due to its good service and budget-friendly cost. Aekyung Group is the owner and founder of this airline. It is an important airline in the region.
Jeju has modern Boeing 737 planes to travel safely in Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and China. The airline provides easy and comfortable travel with suitable flight times. It has a loyalty program called Refresh Point that provides gifts to regular passengers. There are many information about south korean plane crashes on reddit platform.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 Incident
Jeju Air Flight 2216 usually goes from Bangkok Airport which name is Suvarnabhumi, to Muan International Airport in South Korea. Flight experienced a horrible accident on 29 December 2024. The plane 737-800 experienced a deadly accident when it was landing. It goes outside the runway and explodes.
Unfortunately, 179 out of the 181 passengers had died on the spot. Only 2 team members of the airline were surviving but were very injured. The rescue team rescued them and admitted them to the hospital. It has become the graver air crash in South Korea. The same incident happened in the 2020s.
Air Craft Details
The plane included in the accident was a Boeing 737-8AS with the registration number HL8088. It had twice CFM international CFM56-7B engines. Firstly it was given to Ryan Airlines in 2009 and then shifted to Jeju Airline in 2017 under a lease from SMBC Aviation Capital.
The plane had a good history of traveling internationally. After being stopped due to the COVID-19 virus, again began to travel to Muan International Airport in November 2024.
Passenger and Crew
There were 181 members on the plane. 175 were the passengers and 6 were the crew members. Two were from Thailand and others were from South Korea. The age range from three-year-old boy to elder person was born in 1946.
Many passengers were on the Christmas tour to Bangkok for five days involving the officials and government workers. The six-team members included a caption have 6820 hours and first officer with 1650 hours of flying experience. The other four members were flight attendants.
Timeline of the Accident
Flight 2216 flew from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 2:28 am. The flight was traveling smoothly until it reached Muan International Airport. It was warned by the air traffic controller about a possible bird strike at 8:57 am. After a minute, the team sent an urgent signal.
At 9 o’clock in the morning plane was landing and suddenly, the landing gear failed to come out. The incident happened between 9:03 and 9:07 am when the plane was landing. In the recorded video, we can see the plane sliding on the runway without landing gear. Hit the mountain and explode.
Immediate Response of Rescue Team
Rescue services were alerted by 9:03 am before the crash. They sent 1500+ people, including soldiers, firefighters, doctors and police. The fire was very strong which took 43 minutes to put out. The black boxes were found, but the flight data recorder was much damaged.
Passenger bodies were spread out to 200 meters from the plane. Many bodies were fallen from the plane when it hit the ground. Temporary death houses were built to identify bodies with the help of DNA samples. On 30 December 2024, the 137 dead bodies were recognized and teams were working to identify the other bodies.
Initial Investigation
South Korea Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, with the support of NTSB and FAA, began to investigate the crash. Early reports said that bad weather and a bird strike is the possible reasons for the crash.
But the weather was good at that time with 9 kilometers of visibility and also clear skies. Eyewitnesses said they watched a flock of birds fly into the right engine. It caused the spark and fire.
Technical Analysis of Experts
Experts said that all the landing gears failed unusually at the time and there might have been other technical issues. The reverse thrusters and wing flaps were not working during the landing and only one engine was using the reverse thrust.
The speed was too much higher than usual. Which made it difficult to stop on a short runway. Reduces the 300 meters due to construction works. Which will be the main cause of this disaster.
Birds Strike Risks
Muan International Airport is very close to areas where birds live and create high risk of bird strikes. This airport has the highest record of bird strikes compared to other airports. Experts believed that it was due to a bird strike. When the birds was migrating to other place. They create problems like this
Local Government Response
The South Korean government confirmed Muan as a special disaster zone and announced the days of sadness until 5 January 2025. The president and prime minister appreciated the rescue efforts and visited the crash area. Local governments canceled the New Year’s celebration and Korail provided free rides for families of victims to reach Muan.
Family members of victims are sad due to delays in updates and limited access to the incident site. Local authorities faced criticism for slow work and not giving helpful information.
Corporate Response
Jeju Air stopped selling the tickets and apologized many times to the CEO. The company leaders show regret. To help the family of victims the airline sent its 260 workers. Victims blamed the airline for holding a press conference in Seoul. Which is too far from the families affected in Muan.
Global Reactions
The leader from different countries like Thailand, the United States, Germany, Ukraine, China and Japan have sent their support. Airlines and different embassies in South Korea also showed their sympathy. The United States sent an investigation team for help. Many people from the whole world show their support for victims and their families.
Significance
Flight 2216 accident was the graver accident of a South Korean airline. After the crash of Korean Air Flight 801 in Guam in 1997. It was more harmful than the crash of China Flight 129. It became the graver accident since the 2018 accident of Lion Air Flight 610. Jeju air incident is the most deadly crash for the next generation.
Conclusion
Flight 2216 incident raised the need to be aware of the bird strike risks and improve runway safety. Ensure the aircraft systems are technically maintained and have backups. As the investigation went on, the result of this accident became clear and helped to avoid future incidents like this. For Jeju Air and the other travel embassies, this is a sad moment. This will help them to ensure passenger safety during travel.
Frequently Asked Question
Q1: Which country airline is Jeju?
Ans: It’s a popular and low-cost airline in South Korea. Popular due to his good service and customer satisfaction.
Q2: Where was the Korean plane crash?
Ans: The Fight 2216 crashed at the Muan International Airport.
Q3: How many people died in Jeju Air’s plane?
Ans: There are 181 people on the plane. 179 out of 181 had died on the spot. Two crew members were very injured and admitted to the hospital.
Q4: Is Jeju Air a budget airline?
Ans: Jeju Airlines is popular in South Korea due to its low cost and budget-friendly service. It connects Jeju Island with other Asian countries and South Korea.
Q5: What airlines fly out of Jeju?
Ans: Airlines that fly from Jeju Intl. Airport (CJU)
- Korean Air.
- Asiana Airlines.
- China Eastern Airlines.
- Cathay Pacific.
- Xiamen Airlines.