Cause of South Korea plane crash that killed 179 revealed after thunderous bangs heard
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The death toll from the devastating plane crash in South Korea has tragically climbed to 177, with new details emerging about the cause of the disaster. Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 became a fiery inferno after it careered off the runway at Muan International Airport, coming just days after the chilling Azerbaijan calamity where a full passenger jet turned into a fireball on Christmas Day.
The Boeing plane, which was carrying 181 people, skidded off the runway as it landed and smashed into a fence, with early reports hinting that there might have been a malfunction with the landing gear. Eyewitnesses described hearing thunderous "bang" noises as the pilots struggled to land, leading them to go around for another attempt.
Follow our live blog here for all the latest updates. In harrowing video footage, the aircraft appears to be trying for a belly landing without any landing gear out but fails to decelerate in time, the Express US reports. A bird strike may have caused the landing gear to fail, resulting in the plane swerving off the tarmac and slamming into a boundary wall.
The aircraft broke apart and burst into flames, marking one of South Korea's most lethal aviation disasters in over ten years. Emergency services are probing the precise reasons behind the blaze and have sent out 32 fire engines and numerous helicopters to tackle the inferno.
