This Is What Happened Before The Jeju Plane Landed Without Wheels And Exploded

Jeju plane after hitting the wall/ Photo: ANTARA

JAKARTA - The airport control tower has warned of a collision with birds just six minutes before the Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people crashed in the Muan area, southwest of South Korea.

Authorities previously said the accident occurred at around 9:07 a.m. local time, when the Jeju Air plane exited the runway when it landed and collided with the fence wall at Muan International Airport, in the Muan area, South Jeolla Province, 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul.

According to a press conference on Sunday by South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees flight safety, the control tower gave the warning at 8:57 a.m.

The pilot immediately announced a fire or state of emergency at 8:58 a.m. and tried to land at 00.m., but crashed three minutes later at 9:03 a.m. when landing without the landing gear removed, the ministry said.

"When trying to land on runway No.1, the control tower gave a warning of a collision with birds and the pilot announced it was going after that," the ministry said.

Authorities said control towers gave permission to land in the opposite direction on the runway, after which the pilots tried to land until they finally got off the runway and hit the wall.