‘Skid off runway, front landing gear failed to deploy’: What caused South Korea plane crash

Firefighters and rescue team members work at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea. (Photo/AP)

A passenger plane carrying 181 people crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday, killing at least 85 people.
The crash occurred when the plane, operated by Jeju Air, veered off the runway, when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, and exploded into flames.
Video footage shared by the local broadcasters showed the Jeju Air plane, identified by Flight Radar as a Boeing 737-8AS, landing on the runway at Muan Airport. Smoke was seen coming from the engines before the aircraft was completely engulfed in flames.
Watch: Moment when plane skidded off runway, burst into flames at South Korea airport
What caused the crash?
Initial reports suggest that the crash may have been caused by a bird strike, which is believed to have damaged the plane’s landing gear, and adverse weather conditions, leading to the crash-landing attempt.
“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation,” Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing.
Airport authorities said that the flight was attempting an emergency landing due to a landing gear malfunction. The crash occurred after an earlier landing attempt had failed.
Authorities further explained that the aircraft appeared unable to reduce its speed adequately, continuing down the runway until it collided with a wall at the airport’s outer edge, where it erupted into flames.
Worst South Korean airline accident since 1997
The crash is the deadliest aviation accident involving a South Korean airline since 1997, when a Korean Air jet crashed into a hill in Guam, a US territory in the western Pacific, killing 229 of the 254 people on board.
This incident also marks the first fatal crash for Jeju Air, a low-cost South Korean airline founded in 2005 that operates flights to several Asian countries. The airline issued a brief statement apologizing for the accident.
“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on its social media channels.