Horror moment Jeju Air plane bursts into flames killing 177 people

Video footage has captured the horrifying moment a Jeju Air flight skidded onto the runway without wheels before smashing into a wall and bursting into flames.

The fatal incident, at Muan International Airport, saw the aircraft land without its wheels down on the runway before skidding several hundred yards.

The plane was heard screeching on the tarmac as it hurtled toward a wall at the end of the runway and exploding into flames. The clip, shared by South Korean networks showed the plane suffered extensive damage in the crash, the Mirror reports.

At least 177 people were killed when the passenger plane skidded off the runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames after its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, officials said.

The National Fire Agency said rescuers raced to pull people from the Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people at the airport in the town of Muan, about 180 miles (290km) south of Seoul.

The Transport Ministry said the plane was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet that was returning from Bangkok and that the crash happened at 9.03am local time. At least 177 people – 84 women, 82 men and 11 others whose genders were not immediately identifiable – died in the fire, the fire agency said.

Emergency workers pulled two people, both crew members, to safety, and local health officials said they remain conscious. It made the attempted landing at about 9am local time (12am UK time). The disaster is believed to be the deadliest plane crash involving a South Korean airliner in the past three decades.

Jeju Air's president Kim E-bae deeply bowed in a televised news conference as he apologised to bereaved families. The president said he took 'full responsibility' over the incident.

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