All 176 Passengers Safely Evacuated
On the 28th, the Air Busan BX391 flight, which caught fire while preparing for takeoff at Busan Gimhae International Airport, was confirmed to be an Airbus model with an age (aircraft service years) of 17 years.
On the afternoon of the 28th, firefighters are extinguishing a fire inside Air Busan flight BX391 bound for Hong Kong, which was preparing for takeoff at Gimhae Airport apron with 170 passengers and 6 crew members on board. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aircraft Technology Information System (ATIS) on the 29th, the aircraft involved in this accident, HL7763, is an Airbus A321-200 model, manufactured on October 30, 2007. It was first registered on November 13 of the same year by Asiana Airlines, the parent company of Air Busan, through a leasing arrangement, and was transferred to Air Busan on July 1, 2017.
The aircraft age is 17 years and 3 months, which does not reach the 20 years that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport separately manages as 'aged aircraft' prone to frequent malfunctions. However, according to the aviation industry, this aircraft experienced a 'tail strike' on October 28, 2009, at Kansai International Airport in Japan while operated by Asiana Airlines, where the tail section contacted the runway. Other than that, it is known to have no significant accident history.
Air Busan is a low-cost carrier (LCC) established in 2007 through joint investment by Asiana Airlines, Busan City, and local Busan companies. Until last year, it was the only domestic airline with over 100,000 flights in 12 years to maintain a record of no accidents for more than 10 years. However, this record was broken by the recent accident. Air Busan owns a total of 21 aircraft, all of which are Airbus models. Among them, 8 are the same A321-200 (excluding A321-200 Neo) model as the one involved in the fire.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and fire authorities, the fire occurred around 10:15 PM the previous day in the rear cabin of the passenger plane preparing for takeoff at Gimhae Airport apron. There were 176 people on board, including 169 passengers, 6 crew members, and 1 boarding maintenance staff, all of whom safely evacuated via emergency slides. However, 4 people sustained minor injuries during the evacuation, and 2 of them were transported to a hospital for treatment. The fire was completely extinguished at 11:31 PM, 1 hour and 16 minutes after it started.
Immediately after the accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport formed a Central Accident Response Headquarters in Sejong, led by Ju Jong-kwan, Director of the Aviation Policy Office. Seven personnel, including officials from the Aviation Policy Office and investigators from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, were dispatched to the site. At the accident site, a Regional Accident Response Headquarters is operating under the leadership of Lee Jin-cheol, Director of the Busan Regional Aviation Administration. Based on passenger testimonies such as "a crackling sound was heard from the overhead bin in the rear cabin, followed shortly by smoke," and black box records, they plan to determine the exact cause of the fire.
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