Since the 2013 crash landing of an Asiana Airlines flight in San Francisco, Korean air carriers remained free of fatal passenger accidents until Sunday
The fatal crash at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning, which as of 6:10 p.m. had claimed the lives of at least 176 passengers aboard a Jeju Air flight from Thailand, has once again brought the country's aviation safety record into sharp focus.
Prior to the Muan crash, South Korean air carriers had not experienced any fatal passenger accidents for 11 years, although there had been fatalities involving military drills and cargo planes. The most recent fatal passenger accident occurred on July 6, 2013, when an Asiana Airlines flight from Incheon to San Francisco collided with a seawall during landing, resulting in three fatalities.
Looking back to the 1980s and 1990s, South Korean airlines were involved in multiple accidents that caused the deaths of hundreds aboard.
The 1980s saw six passenger plane incidents, which caused approximately 481 fatalities, while the 1990s recorded nine accidents resulting in around 296 deaths, according to compiled aviation industry reports.
In response to these challenges, the country made significant efforts to improve its aviation safety standards, starting in the late 1990s.
These measures included Korean Air consulting and working with experts from Boeing and Delta Air Lines, improving the country’s air safety rating from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2001, and passing an International Air Transport Association audit in 2005.
Between 2002 and 2023, Korea recorded a total of 23 passenger aircraft accidents, according to the country’s Air Portal website, jointly operated by the Transport Ministry and the Aviation Association. Following the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash, the record of Korean-flagged passenger airlines had remained free of fatal passenger accidents until Sunday.
But in recent years, there has been an increase in non-fatal accidents, partly due to a drastic expansion of routes and the rise of low-cost carriers.
In December 2015, three budget carriers — Jeju Air, Eastar Jet and Air Busan — were involved in such accidents. Jeju Air experienced a sudden descent due to a pressure control system failure, Eastar Jet discovered a mechanical defect just before takeoff, and an Air Busan flight was canceled due to internal hydraulic system issues.
In January 2016, a Jin Air flight had to return shortly after takeoff due to an improperly closed door. More recently, on Oct. 25, 2019, a Jeju Air flight bound for Gimpo returned due to a software malfunction. The following day, a T’way Air aircraft aborted its takeoff due to tire damage.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the deadly Muan crash, with a bird strike suspected to have led to a landing gear malfunction.
The Ministry of Transport held an emergency briefing at the Sejong Government Complex following the accident, confirming that the control tower had issued a bird strike warning. "One minute later, the pilot declared a 'Mayday,'" the Ministry's spokesperson said. They further explained that the warning was "likely issued" based on "the size and number of the birds" at the time.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae held a briefing later in the day, stating that the airline's aircraft are continuously maintained according to the maintenance program. Kim emphasized that the Boeing 737-800, involved in the accident, had no prior accident history and showed no signs of malfunction.
While bird strikes occur thousands of times each year worldwide, most of them causing little or no damage to the aircraft, this incident marks the first time a bird strike has been implicated in passenger fatalities in Korea's aviation history.
Recent bird strike accidents include one in January 2022, in which an F-35A jet at the Air Force's Seosan base made a belly landing due to a 10-kilogram eagle being sucked into the left air intake, causing extensive damage inside the aircraft. Earlier this year, a T’way Air passenger flight departing from Japan's Narita International Airport experienced a bird strike shortly before landing at Incheon Airport.
