4 aircraft accidents in South Korea since 2000

The Airbus A321 operated by Air Busan was scheduled to operate from Busan-Gimhae, South Korea, to Hong Kong, China. There were 170 passengers and 6 crew members on board. While the aircraft was still parked at the gate after boarding, a fire broke out in the rear section of the cabin. The crew ordered an emergency evacuation. All 176 occupants evacuated the aircraft. The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.

The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air took off from Bangkok, Thailand, for a passenger flight to Muan, South Korea. 175 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane landed at Muan’s airport with all gear up, overran the runway sliding on fuselage and engines, collided with the ILS localizer antenna array that was installed on a concrete platform about 300 meters (1000 feet) past the runway end. The aircraft disintegrated and burst into flames, while the tail separated near the beginning of the vertical stabilizer and remained relatively intact. Of the 181 occupants, two flight attendants seated in the tail section survived the accident. 179 people were killed.

The Boeing 747-400F operated by Asiana Cargo took off from Seoul, South Korea, for a cargo flight to Shanghai, China. Two crewmembers and 58 tons of cargo were onboard. The plane crashed into the ocean off Jeju Island, 67 minutes after it had taken off Seoul. The two people onboard were killed. The plane took off uneventfully, but then, while the B747 was enroute near Jeju Island (about 250 NM (463 km) South of Seoul), the crew reported the cargo in the hold had caught fire and they needed to divert to Jeju Airport, which was their only possible point of diversion. The crew's distress was clearly audible and increasing during the transmissions. The plane began to divert, but radar contact with the plane was lost while the plane was descending. Debris from the plane was found later in East China Sea, about 58 NM (107 km) west of the city of Jeju. The plane was completely destroyed. The cargo aircraft was carrying 58 tons of cargo including 0.4 tons of hazardous materials like Lithium batteries, paint, amino acid solution and synthetic resin. All the cargo onboard was compliant with the IATA (International Air Transport Association) regulation.

The aircraft departed Beijing (China) as flight CA129 to Pusan's Kimhae Airport (South Korea) for a passenger flight. While turning onto final approach to Runway 18R at Kimhae, the aircraft impacted rising, wooded terrain, broke apart, and caught fire. Weather around the time of the accident was light rain and mist, and the surface visibility was 4000 meters. Among the 167 passengers and crew members, 128 were killed.