Topline
President Joe Biden said Sunday he is “deeply saddened” after a plane crashed at a South Korean airport Sunday, killing nearly 180 people in one of the country’s deadliest aviation disasters, though an investigation into what caused the accident is still underway.
The incident is the deadliest aviation disaster in the country in nearly three decades.
Key Facts
Biden said in a statement he and his wife Jill were “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life” resulting from the Jeju Air plane crash, adding the “American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean” people.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216—operating on a Boeing 737-800—crashed at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea, shortly after 9 a.m. local time Sunday, killing 179 of the 181 people on board the plane, including all but two of the six crew members.
The U.S. “stands ready to provide any necessary assistance,” Biden said, and the National Transportation Safety Board announced earlier Sunday it would assist South Korean agencies in their investigation into the crash, which will include people from the agency, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.
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What Caused The Jeju Air Plane Crash?
Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Muan Fire Department, reportedly said the crash was “estimated to be the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather,” though videos of the incident showed clear skies. Officials have suggested the plane’s landing gear malfunctioned before landing, despite there being no signs of malfunction during maintenance checks before the plane departed from Bangkok, according to Kim E-bae, Jeju Air’s CEO. Minutes before the crash, Muan’s control tower reportedly warned of an increased risk of bird strikes and four airport staffers had been working to prevent such strikes at the time of the crash. Some experts, citing footage of the crash, suggest the aircraft suffered a possible hydraulic failure because the pilot appeared to not deploy flaps or slats to slow down the plane.
Surprising Fact
The accident is the deadliest aviation disaster in South Korea since a Korean Airlines flight crashed in Guam in 1997, killing 229 people, according to CNN. It’s likely the deadliest crash worldwide since a Lion Air plane crashed in 2018, when all 189 people on board were killed, the New York Times reported.
Key Background
Footage of the Jeju Air flight shows the plane sliding on the runway at Muan International Airport before it crashed into an embankment and burst into flames. The plane was almost completely destroyed by the crash, as investigators speculate over what may have caused it. Jeju Air and E-bae issued a “deep apology” for the incident, saying the company would do the “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident. E-bae said he feels “full responsibility” for the crash. Other world leaders joined Biden in expressing remorse for the incident, including Pope Francis, who said he had joined in “prayer for the survivors and the dead.”
