67 Aircraft Accidents in the Past Decade... Most Frequent During the 'Landing Phase'

Amid a passenger plane disaster at Muan International Airport, it has been reported that a total of 67 accidents involving Korean-registered aircraft occurred over the past 10 years until last year, resulting in 59 deaths.

Firefighters are conducting rescue operations at the site of an aircraft explosion accident that occurred on the 29th at Muan International Airport in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do. / Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's '2023 Disaster Yearbook' released on the 29th, there were a total of 67 accidents involving Korean-registered airlines' "aircraft" (airplanes and helicopters) from 2014 to last year. This figure excludes "near-accidents," which refer to abnormal operations that could potentially lead to accidents.

The year with the highest number of aircraft accidents was 2020 (14 cases), followed by 2021 (13 cases), 2018 (9 cases), and 2016 (7 cases). Last year, one accident occurred in Gyeonggi Province and two in Gangwon Province.

Over the past decade, the number of deaths and injuries caused by aircraft accidents were 59 and 73, respectively. In 2016, there were a total of 9 deaths, and in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022, there were 8 deaths recorded each year. The highest number of injuries was in 2015 with 20 people, followed by 2018 (18 people) and 2020 (14 people).

More than half of the causes of airplane accidents were attributed to pilot error. According to the 'Aviation and Railway Accident Casebook' published by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, among 65 airplane accidents and near-accidents from 2013 to 2022, 52.3% (34 cases) were caused by "pilot error." Next were component defects and turbulence, each accounting for 6.2%, followed by facility management (4.6%) and engine defects (3.1%). By flight phase, accidents occurred most frequently during landing (43.1%), cruising (23.1%), approach (10.8%), ground taxiing (9.2%), and takeoff (7.7%).

At 9:03 a.m. today, a Jeju Air aircraft carrying a total of 181 passengers from Bangkok, Thailand, crashed while attempting to land on the runway at Muan Airport. Rescue operations are underway, but authorities believe that most passengers, except for two rescued individuals, have died. This number exceeds the total deaths from Korean-registered aircraft accidents over the past 10 years, and the casualty count is expected to rise.