Eyewitnesses report sparks in engine, explosions before S Korea plane crash
Videos aired by local TV stations show the plane attempting to land without its landing gear deployed
Witnesses to a deadly plane crash in South Korea's southwestern county of Muan today (29 December) reported seeing flames in the jet's engine and hearing multiple explosions before the incident, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The Jeju Air flight veered off the runway while landing. It collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul, at around 9:07am.
Videos aired by local TV stations show the plane attempting to land without its landing gear deployed.
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Yoo Jae-yong, 41, staying at a rental house near the airport, said he saw a spark on the plane's right wing before the crash.
"I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion," Yoo told Yonhap.
Another witness, identified only by his last name, Cho, said he was taking a stroll 4.5 kilometres from the airport when the accident occurred.
"I saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when I noticed a flash of light," Cho said. "Then there was a loud bang followed by smoke in the air, and I heard a series of explosions."
Another witness, Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane failed to land on the first attempt and had circled back for another before the crash.
Kim recalled he heard the sound of "metallic scraping" twice about five minutes before the crash.
Kim said he looked up at the sky and saw the plane ascending after failing to make a landing before he heard a "loud explosion" and saw "black smoke billowing into the sky."
Officials believe the landing gear failure, possibly due to a bird strike, may have caused the accident.
Police and firefighting authorities began an on-site investigation to determine the exact cause.
