South Korea plane crash: First words of miracle survivor revealed | World | News
The first words from one of the two survivors from the plane crash have been revealed (Image: GETTY)
The first words from one of the two survivors of the fatal Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea which killed 179 people have been revealed.
On Sunday, the plane skidded off the runway in the town of Muan before slamming into a concrete barrier and exploding into flames after its landing gear seemingly failed to deploy. The tragedy killed 179 of the 181 people on board the Boeing 737-800.
One of the survivors – a 33-year-old male flight attendant who has only been identified by his last name, Lee – was disorinentated when he woke up in Ewha Woman’s University Hospital in Seoul, according to reports.
He asked, “What happened” and “Why am I here” upon waking up, according to doctors, as reported by MainOnline.
The man also said he had been wearing his seatbelt before the crash, but doesn’t remember anything else after that.
A survivor of the crash asked where he was on waking up in hospital (Image: Getty)
According to local media, Lee was in charge of passenger service at the rear of the jet and suffered a fractured left shoulder as well as head injuries.
He was taken to a hospital in Mokpo, about 190 miles south of Seoul, before being transferred to the South Korean capital.
Another survivor, a 25-year-old female flight attendant identified by her last name, Koo, was being treated at Asan Medical Centre in the same city.
A hospital official told local media: “Koo is currently being treated for scalp lacerations and ankle fractures, and is undergoing treatment for abdominal diagnosis.”
The official said there was no major threat to her life. Joo Woong, Director of Seoul National University Hospital, told reporters there is a possibility Lee could suffer after-effects such as full-body paralysis.
Experts are trying to piece together exactly what caused the crash (Image: Getty)
South Koera’s acting, President Choi Sang-mok, is leading a task force meeting on the crash and has instructed the authorities to conduct an emergency review of the country’s aircraft operation systems.
Choi said: “The essence of a responsible response would be renovating the aviation safety systems on the whole to prevent recurrences of similar incidents and building a safer Republic of South Korea.”
The Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air aborted its first landing attempt for reasons that aren’t immediately clear.
During its second landing attempt, it received a bird strike warning from ground control before its pilot issued a distress signal.
The plane landed without its front landing gear deployed, overshot the runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into a fireball.
The jet landed without its landing gear deployed (Image: Getty)
South Korea’s Transport Ministry said on Monday that it plans to conduct safety inspections of all of the 101 Boeing 737-800 jetliners operated by the country’s airlines as well as a broader review into safety standards at Jeju Air, which operates 39 of the planes.
Senior ministry official Joo Jong-wan said representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing were expected to arrive in South Korea on Monday to take part in the investigation.
Ministry officials said they will look into whether the Muan airport’s localiser — a concrete fence housing a set of antennas designed to guide aircraft safely during landings — should have been made with lighter materials which would break more easily upon impact.
Joo said the ministry has found similar concrete structures in other domestic airports, including in Jeju Island and the southern cities of Yeosu and Pohang, as well as airports in the United States, Spain and South Africa.
John Cox, a retired airline pilot and Chief Executive of Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida, said video of the crash indicated the pilots did not deploy flaps or slats to slow the aircraft, suggesting a possible hydraulic failure.
Only two people survived the crash (Image: Getty)
The footage also appeared to show they did not manually lower the landing gear, suggesting they did not have time, according to Mr Cox.
Mr Cox said despite this, the jet was under control and travelling in a straight line. He added that damage and injuries would probably have been minimised if not for the barrier being so close to the runway.
Other observers said videos showed the plane was suffering from suspected engine trouble, but the landing gear malfunction was likely to be a direct reason behind the crash.
Meanwhile, another Boeing 737-800 plane operated by Jeju Air returned to Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport shortly after takeoff on Monday when the pilot detected a landing gear issue.
Song Kyung-hoon, a Jeju Air executive, said the issue was resolved through communication with a land-based equipment centre, but the pilot decided to return to Gimpo as a precautionary measure.
The Transport Ministry said authorities have so far identified 146 bodies and are collecting DNA and fingerprint samples from the remaining 33.
Park Han Shin, a representative of the bereaved families, said they were told the bodies were so badly damaged officials need time before returning them to their families.
Choking back tears, he said: “I demand that the government mobilize more personnel to return our brothers and family members as intact as possible more swiftly.”
