At around 9:07 a.m. local time on December 29, 2024, a Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216, attempting to land at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do, South Korea, veered off its intended Runway 19. The aircraft crashed into a perimeter wall, catching fire shortly after. As of now, according to CCTV News, the accident has tragically resulted in 58 deaths.

Photos from the crash site show thick smoke blanketing the area. South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-muk, who recently stepped into the role, immediately ordered full-scale rescue operations. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames 43 minutes after they broke out, with 80 medical staff engaged in providing emergency aid.

The flight was traveling from Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan, carrying a total of 181 people: 175 passengers and 6 crew members. Among the passengers, 173 were South Korean nationals, and 2 were Thai. There were no Chinese passengers onboard.

Preliminary investigations point to a possible bird strike during landing as the cause, which may have prevented the landing gear from deploying properly.

Bird strikes are a known risk in aviation, happening frequently, especially during seasonal migrations. These incidents often result in damage like structural harm, engine failure, windshield cracks, or malfunctioning systems. Earlier in June 2024, a Virgin Australia flight suffered an engine fire caused by a bird strike but successfully landed in New Zealand with no injuries reported.

Jeju Air, a budget carrier based in South Korea, was founded in 2005 and operates a fleet primarily consisting of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Their network includes domestic routes like Seoul, Busan, and Jeju, as well as international destinations in countries such as Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The airline operates on a low-cost model, with basic ticket prices supplemented by add-ons like baggage and meal services.

The aircraft involved, a Boeing 737-800 registered as HL8088, had been in service for 15.4 years. The 737-800 is a popular short- to medium-range aircraft, introduced by Boeing in 1997. Between 1998 and 2019, nearly 5,000 of these planes were delivered globally, with an average fleet age of 11.8 years.

Video footage cited by FlightGlobal shows the plane approaching the runway with its landing gear still retracted. Upon touchdown, the tail scraped the runway, followed by the engines and fuselage making contact, causing the plane to veer off and ignite. The right engine appeared to have significant damage as well.

Over the past year, the Boeing 737-800 has seen multiple landing gear-related incidents, though none resulted in casualties. For instance, on August 20, 2023, an Alaska Airlines 737-800 lost its left landing gear, forcing a hard landing. Similarly, on May 9, 2024, a Corendon Airlines 737-800 suffered a burst tire upon landing in Turkey. More recently, on October 11, 2024, an Air India Express 737-800 experienced a hydraulic failure, which left the landing gear unable to retract, forcing it to return to the departure airport.