At least 151 killed in plane crash at South Korean airport

The death toll from the crash has risen to 151, according to local authorities.

The Jeju Air flight was a Boeing 737-800, carrying 181 passengers and crew.

“The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” Joo Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, adding that the aircraft was “completely destroyed” in the crash.

The plane initially tried to land on the airport’s Runway 1, but the pilot was told to instead land on Runway 19 — in the opposite direction — due to a bird strike warning, Joo said.

A minute later, the pilot sent a mayday signal following the bird strike and tried to land on Runway 19. While passing over the runway, the plane struck a safety system called a localizer — which provides guidance during landing — failed to lower the landing gear and crashed into a wall, Joo said.

At least 127 people died when a commercial airplane crashed Sunday at a South Korean airport, officials said.

The Jeju Air flight veered off a runway while landing at Muan International Airport and caught fire after the crash, a spokesperson for the country’s National Fire Agency said.

The flight, which originated from Bangkok, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, said Joo Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. At least two of the passengers were Thai, Joo said.

“We suspect that the accident may have been due to the breakdown in the malfunctioning landing gear,” Lee Jung-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, said at a briefing. Lee said a bird strike and adverse weather also appeared to have played a role but cautioned that the exact cause is still under investigation.

“The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” Joo said, adding that the aircraft was “completely destroyed” in the crash.

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