In the deadly South Korean Jeju Air Flight 2216, where 179 people of 181 total crew and passengers died, it’s reported that the two passengers who survived the were left to be rescued because of their seat location on the plane.
As we previously shared, on Saturday (December 28), a Boeing 737-800 Jeju Air flight, carrying 181 people, was arriving at the Muan International Airport (180 miles south of the South Korean city of Seoul), from Bangkok, Thailand, when its landing gear malfunctioned, causing the plane to hit the runway, skid off, and set fire, killing 179 people and leaving two passengers alive.
The Jeju Air Flight 2216 departed from Bangkok shortly after 2 a.m. local time (2 p.m. Saturday ET), according to the flight-tracking platform FlightAware. The South Korean Jeju Air flight carried 181 people, 175 passengers and 6 crew members, according to Joo Jong-wan, Director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Director Joo Jong-wan added, “The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” after crashing, the jet was “completely destroyed.” The plane initially attempted to land on the airport’s Runway 1, however, the control tower issued a bird strike warning to the pilot and instructed them to land on the opposite side, on Runway 19. A minute later, the pilot sent a mayday signal over a bird strike and attempted to make it to Runway 19.
While passing over the runway, the plane hit a structure, failed to lower its landing gear, striking a safety system called a localizer, which guides landing, and skidded across the runway before crashing into a barrier/wall and bursting into flames. In a video that has since gone viral, the only part of the plane that appeared to remain intact after flames engulfed the South Korean jet was the tail end — which is where the only two passengers who survived the South Korean Jeju Air Flight 2216 sat in their seats.
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Following the deadly crash of the South Korean Jeju Air flight, carrying 181 people, two survivors were pulled from the tail end of the wreckage with moderate injuries while 179 people were confirmed dead. According to South Korea’s National Fire Agency, among those killed, at least 84 were women and 82 were men. The genders of 11 other victims were not immediately known.
According to the Korea Times, the two South Korean Jeju Air Flight 2216 passengers that survived were identified as crew members: a 25-year-old woman identified as Kwon and a 32-year-old man identified as Lee. Citing the Mokpo Korean Hospital, the Korea Times said upon arriving at the hospital, Lee appeared disoriented and asked, “Why am I here?” instead of describing his injuries. He recalled fastening his seatbelt as the plane prepared to land, but could not remember the events that happened during the crash-landing.
Meanwhile, medical staff at the hospital said Kwon could not remember the crash either, but she told doctors that she was experiencing pain in her head, ankle, and abdomen. Staffers claimed she had suffered a scalp laceration and a fractured ankle, and would be tested for abdominal injuries.
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