On December 29, 2024, Jeju Air Flight 2216, a Boeing 737-800 traveling from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport to Muan International Airport in South Korea, experienced a catastrophic landing failure. The plane’s main landing gear failed to deploy, forcing a belly landing that ended in a runway overrun. The aircraft crashed into an embankment and exploded, tragically killing 179 of the 181 people on board. Two crew members survived but sustained injuries.
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| Accident | |
| Date | 29 December 2024 |
| Summary | Runway overrun following belly landing after landing gear failure, under investigation |
| Site | Muan International Airport, South Jeolla, South Korea |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft Type | Boeing 737-8AS |
| Operator | Jeju Air |
| Flight Origin | Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samut Prakan, Thailand |
| Destination | Muan International Airport, South Jeolla, South Korea |
| Occupants | 181 |
| Passengers | 175 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 179 |
| Survivors | 2 |
This incident marked the deadliest aviation disaster involving a South Korean airline since Korean Air Flight 801 crashed in Guam in 1997. It also became the deadliest aviation accident on South Korean soil, surpassing the 2002 crash of Air China Flight 129. The tragedy was the first fatal accident in Jeju Air's 19-year history and South Korea's most devastating mass casualty event since the sinking of the MV Sewol in 2014.
Globally, it stands as the deadliest aviation disaster of 2024, the worst involving a Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, and the most significant airliner crash of the 2020s. It’s also the deadliest since the Lion Air Flight 610 tragedy in 2018.
Background
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-8AS, registered as HL8088, powered by two CFM International CFM56-7B engines. It first took flight on August 19, 2009, and was originally delivered to Ryanair as EI-EFR. After being leased by Ryanair until 2017, the plane was transferred to Jeju Air by SMBC Aviation Capital.
Less than a month before the crash, Jeju Air had resumed regular international flights at Muan International Airport, following a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aircraft had been operating four weekly flights between Muan and Bangkok, a route that Jeju Air had launched just weeks earlier on December 8.
Passenger and Crew
Of the 175 passengers aboard, 173 were South Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals. The passengers ranged in age from the youngest, born in 2021, to the oldest, born in 1946. The total count included 82 men and 93 women, with five children under the age of 10.
The flight crew consisted of the captain, who joined Jeju Air in 2019 and had logged over 6,820 flight hours, and a first officer with over 1,650 hours of experience. Four flight attendants were also onboard, with the two seated in the aft jump seats being the only survivors. Both suffered moderate to serious injuries, including fractures and head trauma, and were treated in hospitals in Mokpo and Seoul. Disoriented after the crash, they could not initially recall the events that followed the landing.
Most passengers were returning home from a five-day Christmas package tour to Bangkok, organized by a travel agency that had chartered the plane. Among them were 13 active or former provincial or local government officials, eight civil servants from Hwasun County, and five administrative officers from the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education.
Tragically, 179 lives were lost in the crash. Local fire officials reported that many passengers were ejected from the aircraft upon impact with the barrier, leaving little chance of survival. Some bodies were found scattered as far as 100 to 200 meters (330 to 660 feet) from the crash site, while others were mutilated or burned in the wreckage.
Accident
The flight departed Suvarnabhumi Airport from Concourse F, Gate F6, at 2:11 a.m. ICT (UTC+7) and took off from Runway 02R at 2:28 a.m. Thai officials reported no abnormalities with the aircraft or its operation before departure. A total of 181 people were onboard, comprising 175 passengers and six crew members.
As the plane approached Muan International Airport in South Korea, it received a warning at 8:57 a.m. KST (UTC+9) about the possibility of a bird strike. At 8:58 a.m., the crew issued a mayday alert. An initial emergency landing attempt at 9:00 a.m. was aborted when the landing gear failed to deploy. Tragically, during a second attempt between 9:03 and 9:07 a.m., the aircraft overran the runway while attempting a belly landing. The plane made contact with the middle of the runway, significantly reducing its available stopping distance. Video footage captured the aircraft skidding down the runway without landing gear before crashing into an embankment holding the ILS array and exploding. Witnesses reported seeing flames and sparks near the right wing, hearing explosions, and observing a flock of birds being sucked into the right engine, which reportedly caused a fire. The only survivors were two crew members rescued from the tail section of the wreckage. Both sustained injuries but were conscious when found.
Emergency services began receiving calls about the crash around 9:03 a.m., prompting a level-3 emergency response, the highest alert. The National Fire Agency mobilized 1,562 personnel, including 490 firefighters, 340 military members, and 455 police officers. The fire was extinguished within 43 minutes, and both flight data recorders were retrieved later that day. While the flight data recorder was partially damaged, the cockpit voice recorder remained intact.
By 1:36 p.m., efforts shifted from firefighting to recovery operations. A temporary morgue was established at the crash site, and a waiting room for family members was set up at the airport, staffed by civil servants providing support. Later that night, families were accommodated in the dormitories of Mokpo National University. DNA samples were collected from some relatives to aid in identifying victims. As of December 30, South Jeolla Province Governor Kim Yung-rok reported 120 bodies had been identified, with fingerprints collected from 159 victims and DNA being used for the remaining identifications.
The runway at Muan International Airport was closed until January 1, 2025. At the time of the crash, ongoing construction had shortened the runway from 2,800 meters to 2,500 meters (9,200 to 8,200 feet). However, officials stated that the reduced runway length was not a contributing factor to the disaster.
Investigation
Emergency services began receiving calls about the crash around 9:03 a.m., prompting a level-3 emergency response, the highest alert. The National Fire Agency mobilized 1,562 personnel, including 490 firefighters, 340 military members, and 455 police officers. The fire was extinguished within 43 minutes, and both flight data recorders were retrieved later that day. While the flight data recorder was partially damaged, the cockpit voice recorder remained intact.
By 1:36 p.m., efforts shifted from firefighting to recovery operations. A temporary morgue was established at the crash site, and a waiting room for family members was set up at the airport, staffed by civil servants providing support. Later that night, families were accommodated in the dormitories of Mokpo National University. DNA samples were collected from some relatives to aid in identifying victims. As of December 30, South Jeolla Province Governor Kim Yung-rok reported 120 bodies had been identified, with fingerprints collected from 159 victims and DNA being used for the remaining identifications.
The runway at Muan International Airport was closed until January 1, 2025. At the time of the crash, ongoing construction had shortened the runway from 2,800 meters to 2,500 meters (9,200 to 8,200 feet). However, officials stated that the reduced runway length was not a contributing factor to the disaster.
Reactions
Domestic
Suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, recently impeached following controversy over a failed martial law imposition earlier in the month, expressed his condolences via social media.
Jeju Air issued a statement apologizing for the tragedy, temporarily suspending ticket sales links on its website. CEO Kim E-bae and Chang Young-shin, chair of parent company Aekyung Group, also released public apologies. To support the victims' families, the airline dispatched 260 employees to Muan.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety faced criticism for sending an emergency text message two hours and 45 minutes after the disaster, prompting an apology from Muan County officials. Similarly, Yeonggwang County’s emergency messages, which included messages of condolence rather than actionable disaster information, drew backlash for failing to meet standardized guidelines.
International
Leaders from around the world expressed their condolences following the tragic crash. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. President Joe Biden all sent messages of sympathy to the families of the victims. Diplomatic missions in South Korea, as well as Boeing, also extended their condolences.
The Saudi Arabian foreign ministry and the Holy See both expressed sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives. In response to the crash, the United States announced the deployment of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Boeing to South Korea to assist the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board’s inquiry, as the aircraft was manufactured in the U.S.