King Charles and Queen Camilla are ‘profoundly saddened’ by the plane crash in South Korea that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 passenger jet crashed on the runway at Muan International Airport this morning after skidding and crashing into a concrete wall, causing the plane to burst into flames.
All passengers on board died – the youngest being a three-year-old boy – while two of six crew members miraculously survived after being recovered from the back of the plane.
Charles and Camilla said they will mourn the 179 lives lost, with those who died and their grieving families ‘in our prayers’.
The royal pair said in a statement: ‘My wife and I were profoundly saddened to learn of the horrific air accident at Muan, which resulted in such grievous loss of life.
‘As the people of the Republic of Korea mourn this disaster, the families and loved ones of all the victims are in our prayers. Charles R.’
Sir Keir Starmer also sent his ‘deepest condolences’ to the victims of the fatal plane crash.
‘I send my deepest condolences to the victims and families of those who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash in Muan,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘I pay tribute to the work of the emergency responders and my thoughts are with the people of the Republic of Korea and Thailand at this terrible time.’
King Charles and Queen Camilla are ‘profoundly saddened’ by the plane crash in South Korea that killed 179 people
Firefighters search for bodies in the wreckage of the crashed plane at Muan International Airport
It is believed a bird strike could have caused the tragic crash, with footage seemingly showing the moment the aircraft was struck while in the air.
But aviation experts said a bird strike should not have crippled the landing gear of the doomed plane.
The aircraft is thought to have encountered a flock of birds as it came in to land at the airport this morning.
The doomed plane attempted a belly-landing before skidding off the 2,800-metre runway, ploughing into a concrete wall and bursting into flames.
The single-aisle aircraft was seen in video broadcast on local media skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flames and debris.
A South Korean transport official earlier said that the plane had attempted to land but was told by the air traffic control to hold off after giving a bird strike warning.
Around two minutes later the pilot called a Mayday and was given permission to land from the opposite direction.
The head pilot had been in his role since 2019 and had more than 9,800 hours of flight experience.
Firefighting authorities conduct a search operation at the plane crash site in South Korea
It is believed a bird strike could have caused the tragic crash, which claimed 179 lives
Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas questioned why fire tenders didn’t lay foam on the runway.
‘Why weren’t they in attendance when the plane touched down? And why did the aircraft touch down so far down the runway? And why was there a brick wall at the end of the runway?,’ he said.
‘A bird strike is not unusual, problems with an undercarriage are not unusual. Bird strikes happen far more often, but typically they don’t cause the loss of an airplane by themselves.’
Trevor Jensen, an Australian aviation consultant, said fire and emergency services would normally be ready for a belly-landing, ‘so this appears to be unplanned’.
However, aviation expert Sally Gethin told Sky News a bird strike could cause damage to the engine and the hydraulics to fail.
She said it was a ‘plausible explanation’ for causing a landing gear failure.
‘The pilots would have had to make very split-second decisions on what their options would be in a case like that,’ she said.
‘Then, of course, they ran out of runway and hit a buffer wall right at the end which caused the actual eruption.’
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