Air traffic control shared warning to aircraft minutes before tragic plane crash that saw 179 killed

Air traffic control issued a warning to the Jeju Air aircraft before it crash landed in Muan International Airport on Sunday (29 December).

The Boeing 737-800 had flown from Bangkok, Thailand and had attempted to land in Muan, South Korea, at 9:03am local time.

Footage of the crash shows the Jeju Air plane skidding down the runway with no landing gear seemingly deployed before it eventually collides with a concrete wall and bursting into flames, with eyewitnesses describing hearing a 'series of explosions' as well as 'metallic scraping'.

Emergency services rushed to the plane wreckage soon after, though only two of the 181 passengers and crew onboard survived the crash. The only survivors were two crew members, who were recovered shortly after the crash on Sunday morning.

The Jeju Air plane was left unrecognisable (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

It was reported by several news outlets, including the BBC, that one of the late passengers sent a 'heartbreaking' final message to a family member about a bird being 'stuck in the wing' of the plane.

An investigation into the incident has revealed that the plane was given a bird strike warning from air traffic control minutes prior to the crash, The Guardian reports.

Yonhap News also reported that one of the surviving crew members had also mentioned a bird strike after being rescued from the wreckage.

The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, however, it has drawn some eyes to Muan International Airport's history of similarly tragic incidents, according to Yonhap.

The airport boasts the highest rate of bird strikes in South Korea's 14 regional airports, with 10 incidents occurring between 2019 and August 2024, data submitted to the Korea Airports Corporation revealed.

The airplane burst into flames upon impact (X)

Its strike rate of 0.09 percent may seem small, but compared to Gimpo International Airport (0.018 percent) and Jeju International Airport (0.013 percent), it looks colossal.

Bird strikes can be life-threatening, according to aviation experts, and the reason behind Muan's high rate is due to its close proximity to fields and coastal areas.

Aviation expert David Learmount explained to Sky News that those onboard could have survived, if not for the concrete wall.

He explained: "Not only is there no justification [for the wall to be there], I think it's verging on criminal to have it there. That kind of structure should not be there. That is awful. That is unbelievably awful.

"He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground."