A passenger plane crashed on landing at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, killing 179 of the 181 on board. The accident happened when the aircraft’s front landing gear reportedly failed to deploy. Video footage captured the horrifying moment the plane landed, struck a wall, and burst into flames. Among the victims was a three-year-old boy returning from his first overseas trip. The Jeju Air flight was traveling from Bangkok, Thailand, with 175 passengers and six crew members.
The three-year-old’s parents, Kang Ko, 43, and Jin Lee Seon, 37, had shared a poignant photo of their son looking out of the airplane window during their vacation. According to news.com.au, the picture was captioned with a bitter-sweet post: “My son is going abroad for the first time on a night flight, and his first passport has no stamp.” Other pictures posted on social media featured the family enjoying their trip to Thailand. Tragically, the child was among five victims under the age of 10.
Kang Ko, who worked in the promotions department of the Kia Tigers professional baseball team, received an outpouring of condolences following the tragedy. Retired pitcher Kim Byung-hyun expressed his grief on Instagram, writing, “I’ve been pressing ‘like’ for pictures of my friend, his wife, and their 3-year-old son having a great time in Thailand.. It gives me great pain, and my condolences go to all the bereaved family members (of the victims).”
Sportscaster Jeong Woo-yeong of SBS Sports also paid respects, saying: “He (Ko) was great at his work, and the entire baseball broadcast team liked him. Me among them, of course. I want to pay condolences for him, his family, and the Tigers.”
At the airport, families were waiting to hear news about their loved ones, and it was a tragic scene. A middle-aged man was seen asking police, “Can you promise that they will be put back together?” As The Sun reported, more than 600 body parts have been retrieved from the site of the disaster.
Ground control had issued a bird strike warning to the Boeing 737-800 after it initially failed to land. Before the crash, the pilot reportedly sent out a distress signal as the plane approached the runway without its front gear deployed.
