More than 170 dead at Muan plane crash

An airplane crash accident occurred at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province. A passenger plane carrying 181 passengers hit an embankment during landing. The accident is estimated to be the worst flight accident since Korea's first private airline launched in 1969. It was recorded as the first large-scale casualty since domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs) in 2005.

The worst airline accident in Korea was the Korean Air Flight 801 crash on August 6, 1997. A passenger plane departing from Gimpo Airport in Seoul and heading to Guam crashed into a nearby jungle, killing 228 out of 254 passengers and crew. The impact of the damage increased as the plane hit the ground before touching the runway while attempting to land in bad weather. It was the second-largest loss of life among Korean airline accidents, following the shooting down of Korean Air Flight 007 in Soviet (now Russian) airspace in 1983, in which all 269 people on board were killed.


이소정 기자 sojee@donga.com