The deadliest air accident ever in South Korea killed 179 people on Sunday when an airliner belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at Muan International Airport. Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was trying to land shortly after 9 am local time at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea's transport ministry said. Two crew members survived and were being treated for injuries. The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in local media video landing on its belly at the Muan International Airport and skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out of the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames, killing everyone on board except two crew plucked from the wreckage. "Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of [the plane] looks almost impossible to recognise," Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a press briefing. The two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Lee said. "Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the wall, leaving little chance of survival," a local fire official told families at a briefing, according to a statement released by the fire brigade. Only two peopleboth flight attendantswere rescued from the crash, it said. "Of the 179 dead, 65 have been identified," the country's fire agency said, adding that DNA retrieval had begun. Inside the airport terminal, tearful family members gathered to wait for news. An official began calling out the names of the 65 victims, with each name triggering fresh cries of grief. All of the passengers were Korean apart from two Thais, with the youngest a three-year-old boy and the oldest a 78-year-old, authorities said. The two survivors were transferred to separate hospitals in Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reported. Bits of plane seats and luggage were strewn across the field next to the runway. Authorities combed nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Lee said. Investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. The control tower had issued a bird strike warning and, shortly afterward, the pilots declared mayday and then attempted to land from the opposite direction, a transport ministry official said. A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The crash was the worst for any South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people, transportation ministry data showed. The previous worst on South Korean soil was an Air China crash that killed 129 in 2002. Yonhap news agency cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction. Experts, however, said the bird strike report and the way the aircraft attempted to land raised more questions than answers. "A bird strike is not unusual, problems with an undercarriage are not unusual," said Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas. "Bird strikes happen far more often, but typically they don't cause the loss of an airplane by themselves." Under global aviation rules, South Korea will lead a civil investigation into the crash and automatically involve the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States, where the plane was built. The NTSB said later it was leading a team of US investigators to help South Korea's aviation authority. Hours after the crash, family members gathered in the airport's arrival area, some crying and hugging as Red Cross volunteers handed out blankets. Many victims appeared to be residents of nearby areas returning from vacation, officials said. Families screamed and wept as a medic announced the names of victims identified by their fingerprints. Papers were circulated for families to write down their contact details. Mortuary vehicles lined up outside to take bodies away, and authorities said a temporary morgue had been established. The aircraft was manufactured in 2009, the transport ministry said. The Boeing model involved in the crash, a 737-800, is one of the world's most flown airliners with a generally strong safety record. It was developed well before the MAX variant involved in a recent Boeing safety crisis. It was the first fatal flight for Jeju Air, a low-cost airline founded in 2005 that ranks behind only Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines in terms of the number of passengers in the country. Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae apologised for the accident, bowing deeply during a televised briefing. Kim said that the aircraft had no record of accidents and there were no early signs of malfunction, adding that the airline will cooperate with investigators and make supporting the bereaved its top priority. All domestic and international flights at the airport were cancelled after the accident, Yonhap reported. The crash site smelled of aviation fuel and blood, according to Reuters witnesses. Workers in protective suits and masks combed the area while soldiers searched through bushes. The accident happened only three weeks after Jeju Air started regular flights from Muan to Bangkok and other Asian cities on December 8. Muan International is one of South Korea's smallest airports but it has become much busier in recent years. South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, named interim leader of the country on Friday in an ongoing political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was putting all its resources into dealing with the crash. Two Thai women were on the plane, aged 22 and 45, Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said. The Thai foreign ministry later confirmed both were among those killed. Thai officials said that there were no abnormal conditions when the plane took off. Both black boxesthe flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorderhave been found from the crash site, some 288 kilometres southwest of the capital Seoul, deputy transport minister Joo Jong-wan said at a briefing. COMMENTS Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our
Raiders find winning formula again in topping SaintsFollowing a brief outage that grounded all American Airlines ( ) flights during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, American Airlines says it has resumed service Tuesday morning. American Airlines said a “vendor technology issue” was responsible for delaying all of its flights in the United States. But the company began boarding flights again at around 8 am ET, and flights have since resumed, airline spokeswoman Sarah Jantz told CNN. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents the 16,000 pilots at American Airlines, said American Airlines’ Flight Operations System briefly went down Tuesday morning, which led to the delays. Known as the FOS, the system handles the airline’s operations, key to getting airplanes released for departure — including passenger boarding. American Airlines has backup flight planning tools to prevent an outage from shutting down the entire airline for extended periods of time, according to the union, which said pilots and crew are trained to understand how to navigate a system outage. American Airlines didn’t confirm the specific system that had an outage but acknowledged the issue prevented it from releasing flights from the gates. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide groundstop order for all American flights. The FAA in a statement said American requested a nationwide ground stop but it referred all questions to the airline for more information. The outage came on a day when the airline is scheduled to have more than 3,300 domestic flights, according to the aviation analytics firm Cirium. The airline resumed service with residual delays but without a substantial number of cancelations. “It’s all hands on deck as our team is working diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible,” the airline said. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.” American said delayed customers should be on their way with minimal disruption. “Expect some delays throughout the day but [we’re] working to mitigate those and avoid cancels,” Jantz said. “We have a smaller schedule today and have the staffing to support the quick recovery.” Just 26 flights across all airlines were canceled nationwide, according to data tracker FlightAware. More than 1,000 flights into, within and out of the United States were delayed – a number that picked up shortly after the American outage, but it could also be caused by airport congestion and some winter weather in the Northeast. ‘Complaining doesn’t seem quite right’ David Myers, a 62-year-old disaster consultant traveling from from Salisbury, Maryland, to New Orleans with a layover in Charlotte said he was first alerted to the issue at 6 am Tuesday morning. He and his wife are trying to spend Christmas with their children. “It’s Christmas Eve, so complaining doesn’t seem quite right,” Myers told CNN. “And safety always comes first. But more information at the gate would be helpful.” Customers on social media began complaining early Tuesday morning that some flights were returning to their gates and that delays are about 90 minutes. “Captain says @AmericanAir software outage preventing weight & balance calculations ‘company-wide’ with no estimate on resolution. Flights unable to depart as a result. Not a good start to Christmas Eve travel!,” on X. In a posted from Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida, an agent is heard saying “our system is down” and they are keeping passengers at the gate. American Airlines’ ( ) stock initially fell nearly 3% in premarket trading, but rose 1% following the resolution. Service outages Holiday travel delays are nothing new, but glitches and outages can make annoying situations significantly worse. In July, during the peak of summer travel season, a led to travel chaos around the world. Most airlines recovered within a day, but for about a week. The meltdown ensnared an estimated half a million people, ruined holidays and travel plans and prompted a federal investigation In December 2022, a punishing winter storm that dumped across much of America led to widespread flight cancellations over the Christmas holiday. Although air travel was more or less back to normal a few days later, and delays as its outdated scheduling systems became overwhelmed. That storm had hit Chicago and Denver hard, where Southwest has two of its biggest hubs, exposing the airline’s technology shortcomings. The airline faced massive fines and lawsuits, but it has since upgraded its tech. CNN’s Pete Muntean, Alexandra Skores and Nick Valencia contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent more than a year in hospice care. The Georgia peanut farmer served one turbulent term in the White House before building a reputation as a global humanitarian and champion of democracy. He defeated President Gerald Ford in 1976 promising to restore trust in government but lost to Ronald Reagan four years later amid soaring inflation, gas station lines and the Iran hostage crisis. He and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, then formed The Carter Center, and he earned a Nobel Peace Prize while making himself the most active and internationally engaged of former presidents. The Carter Center said the former president died Sunday afternoon in Plains, Georgia. Contributing: Associated PressThe NCR region, including Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Faridabad, experienced equally harsh weather conditions coupled with persistently poor air quality. New Delhi: Delhi, battling a persistent cold wave and alarming air pollution, experienced a mixed bag of weather conditions on Tuesday. A western disturbance brought light rain to parts of the city in the evening, offering a temporary respite from the biting cold but doing little to improve the air quality. The minimum temperature dipped to a chilly 9.9 degrees Celsius, highlighting the harsh winter conditions gripping the national capital. The fresh precipitation prompted the Centre for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to revoke the GRAP-4 (Graded Response Action Plan) restrictions, which are implemented when air quality reaches the severe category. However, the CAQM urged concerned authorities to maintain stringent actions under GRAP Stages I, II, and III. Despite the rain, Delhi’s air quality remained stubbornly high. The Air Quality Index (AQI) soared to 401, categorized as “severe,” according to the Central Government’s Sameer app. The mercury dropped to 10.8 degrees Celsius, adding to the overall discomfort, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting more rain or drizzle. The NCR region, including Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Faridabad, experienced equally harsh weather conditions coupled with persistently poor air quality. Looking ahead, the IMD has predicted a further dip in temperatures across Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. A western disturbance near Punjab is expected to trigger light rain or snowfall in parts of the western Himalayas and contribute to the cooling trend in the plains. Residents are urged to prepare for even colder conditions as the mercury continues its descent. Click for more latest Delhi news . Also get top headlines and latest news from India and around the world at News9. Junaid Dar is a multimedia journalist based in Delhi, currently working as the Chief Reporter for News9 Live. He has been at the heart of India’s most pivotal moments. From the intense 2022 UP Assembly elections to the 2024 Assembly elections in Kashmir, and the high-stakes 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Junaid has been on the ground and brought fresh perspectives to his readers.His work goes beyond politics. He has a special knack for telling human stories—whether it’s his Indepth coverage of the farmers' protests, where he focused on the lives and struggles of the protesters, or his courageous reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he risked his own safety to capture the full scope of the crisis. His reporting has appeared in leading national and international outlets, including Voice of America, Daily Vox, Huffington Post, TRT World, Article 14, and India Ahead, among others.Amazon Stock Price: Gaming’s Unexpected Ally?
Baker Mayfield threw for five touchdowns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stayed in the race atop the NFC South by pounding the visiting Carolina Panthers 48-14 on Sunday afternoon. Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan both caught two TD passes and Bucky Irving rushed for 113 yards as Tampa Bay's second victory of the month against Carolina came much easier than the road version in overtime. Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 359 yards and Evans caught eight balls for 97 yards. The Buccaneers (9-7) collected 551 yards of total offense. The Panthers (4-12) have lost five of their last six despite Bryce Young throwing two touchdown passes to Adam Thielen (five catches, 110 receiving yards). Young finished 15-for-28 passing for 203 yards, but Carolina managed only 39 rushing yards as it played without injured top running back Chuba Hubbard. Both of Mayfield's TD tosses to Evans were short (2 yards, 1 yard). Mayfield's scoring throws to McMillian covered 10 and 16 yards. He also had a 5-yard throw to Payne Durham to open the second-half scoring. The Buccaneers also scored off J. J. Russell's blocked punt return during a 25-second span of the third quarter when they racked up 14 points. Chase McLaughlin kicked field goals of 23 and 34 yards for the Buccaneers, who need to finish with a better record than the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional race because the tiebreaker favors Atlanta, which plays at Washington on Sunday night. Tampa Bay hosts New Orleans next weekend, while Carolina plays at Atlanta. After scoring on its first possession, Carolina's next three series on offense resulted in a total of minus-6 yards and three punts. The Buccaneers cashed in for 17 points following those defensive stops. The Panthers perked up by going 70 yards in 21 seconds to score on Young's 40-yard pass to Theilen with 50 seconds left in the half. They got the ball back following a Tampa Bay punt, and were in position to post 10 points in the last minute of the half until Eddy Pineiro's 53-yard field goal attempt was off the mark. Carolina has surrendered more points this year than in any season in franchise history, though Tampa Bay came four points shy of matching the most points ever allowed by the Panthers in a game. --Field Level MediaNone