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| ▲ This photo, provided by a Yonhap reader, shows the accident site where a passenger plane crashed at Muan International Airport in Muan, 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Dec. 29, 2024. (Yonhap) |
plane crash-bird warning
Bird strike warning issued shortly before Jeju Air plane crash in Muan: ministry
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- An airport control tower had warned of a bird strike just six minutes before a Jeju Air passenger jet carrying 181 people crashed in South Korea's southwestern county of Muan, the transport ministry said Sunday.
Officials earlier said the accident happened at around 9:07 a.m., when the Jeju Air flight veered off the runway while landing and collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport in Muan county, South Jeolla Province, 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
According to a press briefing of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees aviation safety, the control tower issued the warning at 8:57 a.m.
The pilot of the aircraft immediately declared mayday at 8:58 a.m. and attempted to land at 9 a.m. but crashed three minutes later at 9:03 a.m. while landing without its landing gear deployed, it said.
"While attempting to land on runway No.1, the control tower issued a bird strike warning and the pilot declared mayday shortly after," the ministry said.
Officials said the control tower granted clearance to land in the opposite direction on the runway, after which the pilot attempted a landing until it overshot the runway and hit the wall.
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