At least 47 people were killed when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 181 people, crashed while attempting an emergency belly landing due to a landing gear failure at Muan International Airport. The plane was arriving from Bangkok.
A 50-year-old man, who was fishing near the airport, said he saw the Jeju Air flight collide head-on with birds as it was descending to land, Yonhap News reported.
"There were two or three loud bangs, and I saw flames coming from the right engine, likely after some birds were sucked in," the witness said.
The Boeing 737-800 attempted to gain altitude after the collision but couldn't climb very high.
The witness observed the aircraft making a low-altitude turn to attempt a landing from the opposite direction.
"When the plane flew over my head during the landing attempt, I could clearly see that its landing gear was deployed," the person said.
The aircraft then failed to control its speed on the runway, crashed through a wall, and exploded.
The flight was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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