In South Korea, a new air accident was registered with the fire of a passenger aircraft at Gimhae International Airport in Busan. According to reports from the fire service, no injuries have been reported so far. The incident occurred at 10:30 PM local time on Tuesday, January 28.
Images and videos of the fire of an Airbus A321 from Air Busan are circulating on social media, showing that the fire originated in the tail section of the aircraft which was headed to Hong Kong. All 176 passengers and crew members were evacuated using the emergency slides.
So far, there have been no reports of fatalities or injuries due to the fire at Gimhae airport, and the causes of the incident have not been disclosed.
In another event, it was revealed that the black box of the South Korean aircraft that suffered a fatal accident on December 29 stopped recording two kilometers before reaching the runway, according to a preliminary report presented by the authorities. These findings will be shared with international organizations and aviation authorities from various countries.
The report details that the recording stopped minutes before the aircraft collided with a locator near the runway. The explosion occurred after the aircraft crashed into a concrete wall, without having activated the landing gear or other braking devices, after the pilot reported the presence of a bird.
Authorities will continue to analyze air traffic information, video recordings of the accident, and debris found at the site. The accident, in which only two crew members survived, has caused Jeju Air to cut its flights from Busan to improve aircraft maintenance operations during the first quarter of the year.
