The damaged tail section of the Jeju Air passenger plane is lifted by a crane at the site of a collision and explosion at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, Sunday. Yonhap

The crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 at Muan International Airport on Sunday is expected to be recorded as the worst aviation disaster in Korea's history. Even compared to national carrier accidents abroad, the loss of life in this incident is staggering.

The plane carried 175 passengers, including two Thai nationals, along with six crew members. A total of 179 fatalities have been confirmed, with only two survivors.

The deadliest crash involving a Korean airline occurred on Sept. 1, 1983, when Korean Air Flight 007, en route from New York to Gimpo International Airport, was shot down by a Soviet fighter jet near Kamchatka. All 269 people on board perished.

Another devastating incident was the Korean Air Flight 801 crash in Guam in August 1997, which claimed 225 lives. The plane, attempting to land at Guam International Airport, crashed into a jungle due to pilot error in poor weather conditions.

Other notable disasters include the 1987 Korean Air Flight 707 bombing over the Indian Ocean by North Korean agents, killing 115 people, and the 1989 Korean Air crash at Tripoli Airport, Libya, which left 80 dead.

The most recent major accident was in July 2013, when an Asiana Airlines plane crashed at San Francisco International Airport, killing two passengers and injuring 181.

Emergency responders and officials search the damaged tail section of a Jeju Air passenger plane at the site of a collision and explosion at Muan International Airport, Sunday. Yonhap

Deadliest crash on Korean soil

Prior to the Jeju Air crash, the worst aviation accident on Korean soil occurred in April 2002, when a Chinese airliner attempting to land at Gimhae Airport crashed into a nearby mountain, killing 129 of the 167 passengers and crew.

Another significant tragedy was the July 1993 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 733, which slammed into a hill in Haenam County, South Jeolla Province, killing 68 of the 110 people on board.

Aviation experts often highlight the "critical 11 minutes" — the three minutes after takeoff and the eight minutes before landing — as the most dangerous phases of a flight. The Jeju Air crash, which occurred during the landing process at Muan International Airport, falls into this category.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.