The death toll from the plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea has risen to 122, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service, with only two survivors reported.
Most of the remaining passengers and crew are presumed dead, authorities stated.
Among the deceased, 54 are male and 57 are female, while the gender of 11 individuals remains undetermined, according to the fire service.
The only confirmed survivors are two crew members – one male and one female – as reported by the on-site fire service team.
The Jeju Air jetliner was carrying 181 passengers and crew when it crashed Sunday morning.
Boeing Extends Condolences to Families of South Korea Air Crash Victims
Boeing has expressed its condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in Sunday’s air crash in South Korea and confirmed it is in contact with the carrier Jeju Air.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 from Bangkok, listed on flight tracking sites as a Boeing 737-800, crashed Sunday morning at Muan International Airport.
“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said in a brief statement posted to its X account.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the company added.
Challenging times: The US aviation giant has faced turbulent years, including two 737 Max crashes, a tragedy for which Boeing agreed to plead guilty to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the plane’s certification process.
However, analysts describe the Boeing 737-800 as a reliable workhorse of the skies with an exceptionally strong safety record.
Aviation experts caution against drawing conclusions early in the investigation
Aviation experts told CNN that more evidence and information are required before South Korean authorities can definitively determine the cause of Sunday’s crash, including local officials’ speculation about a possible bird strike.
The warnings came after Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Muan Fire Department, briefed the media that the cause was “estimated to be a bird strike or bad weather.” However, footage of the crash showed clear skies at the time.
David Soucie, a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector, stated that “speculation is the worst enemy of an investigator.”
Aviation industry consultant Scott Hamilton echoed Soucie’s concerns, urging South Korean authorities to “stop making declarative statements” at this stage.
“There is no way in the world at this point you can know what caused this accident,” he said.
Hamilton noted that the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, both located in the airplane’s tail section, appear relatively intact.
“Since it doesn’t seem like there was fire in the extreme tail section, the data should be readable in short order. At some point, you’ll have the cockpit communication recordings that will help identify what was happening,” he explained.
Context: South Korean rescuers stated they will search for the black box flight data recorders after recovering the remaining victims, according to a Transport Ministry briefing. “Black boxes” provide aviation safety investigators with critical information to reconstruct an incident.
Death Toll from South Korea Plane Crash Rises to 96
Firefighters work near the aircraft that crashed at Muan International Airport on December 29.
The death toll from the plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea has risen to 96, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service.
The deceased include 47 males, 48 females, and one child whose gender remains unconfirmed.
Most of the remaining passengers and crew are presumed dead, according to an earlier update from the fire service.
The number of survivors remains at 2, both crew members, one male and one female, according to the on-site fire service team.
The Jeju Air jetliner was carrying 181 passengers and crew when it crashed Sunday morning.
Rescuers Will Search for Black Box Recorders After Recovering Victims, Officials Say
Firefighters search near the debris at the site of a plane crash at Muan International Airport on December 29.
Rescue workers will search for the black box flight data recorders from the Jeju Air flight that crash-landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday after they have recovered the remaining victims, according to a Transport Ministry briefing.
These flight data recorders, or “black boxes,” provide crucial information for aviation safety investigators to piece together the details of an incident.
More than 700 personnel from the police, military, and coast guard have been mobilized for on-site response efforts, the ministry added.
Muan Fire Department authorities said rescuers are working to identify the victims and record the exact locations where individuals lost their lives.
The deceased will be transported to a mortuary at the airport and released for burial once the identification process has been completed.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/south-korea-plane-crash-12-29-24-intl-hnk/index.html
Source: Rumpf-Whitten, S. (2024, 29 diciembre). Plane veers off airport runway in South Korea and crashes, killing at least 120: reports. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/world/plane-drives-off-runway-crashes-fence-leaving-least-23-dead-report
