Deadly Crash of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216

By Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL (Reuters) – The crash of Jeju Air flight 7C2216 on Sunday marks the deadliest ever on South Korean soil and the worst involving a South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air Lines crash in Guam that killed more than 200.

The crash of the Boeing 737-800 at Muan International Airport is the first fatal accident involving the country's biggest budget airline, which was founded in 2005. Jeju Air ranks only behind Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines in terms of the number of passengers in South Korea.

The previous most deadly air accident in South Korea was in 2002, when a Boeing 767-200 operated by Air China crashed into a hill near South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan, killing 129 people and injuring 37.

Notable Plane Crashes Involving South Korean Airlines

• September 1983: Korea Airlines Flight 007 was shot down by a Soviet jet over Sakhalin island, killing all 269 on board.
• July 1993: An Asiana Airlines Boeing 737-500 landed short of Mokpo airport during poor weather, resulting in over 60 fatalities.
• August 1997: Korean Air flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashed near Guam's airport, killing 228 out of 254 people on board.
• July 2011: An Asiana Boeing 747-400 cargo plane crashed into the sea off Jeju Island, killing both pilots due to a fire in the cargo hold.
• July 2013: Asiana Airlines flight 214 crashed at San Francisco airport when its tail struck a seawall, resulting in three deaths and injuries to over 180 passengers.