Bird hit, belly landing, explosion: How South Korea plane crash happened

A South Korean passenger plane crashed into a wall on landing at the country's Muan International Airport and exploded, resulting in the presumed death of 179 passengers and as only two people were reported to have made out alive.

The incident occurred when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from Bangkok, was landing around 9 am (local time). Follow LIVE updates.

Visuals from the crash site showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane. Two people – a man and a woman – were found alive and are undergoing treatment. Authorities have presumed 179 passengers as dead.

It is the deadliest air accident involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to ministry data.

South Korea plane crash: Here's what happened

• Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors behind the incident.
• Officials also suspect a landing gear failure, possibly due to a bird strike, may have caused the accident.
• The control tower had issued a bird strike warning and shortly afterward the pilots declared mayday, Reuters reported, citing a transport ministry official who did not specify whether the flight said it struck any birds.

• A passenger, however, texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The person's final message was: "Should I say my last words?"
• About one minute after the mayday call, the aircraft made its ill-fated attempt to land on its belly. Visuals indicate that the plane's landing gear failed to deploy.

  Also Read | Bird strike likely cause of fatal South Korea plane crash. What is it?

• After touching the ground, the plane appeared to have failed to reduce its speed until it reached the end of the runway and crashed into the wall at the outer edge of the airport, erupting into a fireball.
• Fire officials said that while the fire was doused, the plane was completely destroyed.
• "Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the wall, leaving little chance of survival," a local fire official told families at a briefing, according to AFP. “The plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. The process is taking time as we locate and recover the remains.”
• Only two people were rescued, both flight attendants. About 120 people were confirmed dead by mid-afternoon.