A devastating tragedy has unfolded as at least 179 people lost their lives when a passenger aircraft skidded off the runway and crashed while attempting to land at Muan International Airport in South Korea, marking one of the country’s most catastrophic aviation accidents.
The incident occurred at 9:03 AM local time (00:03 GMT) on Sunday, when the Jeju Air flight, which was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members from Bangkok, Thailand, was approaching Muan International Airport, situated approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Seoul.
The National Fire Agency confirmed the heartbreaking toll of 179 fatalities, including 85 women, 84 men, and 10 individuals whose gender could not immediately be ascertained. Only two survivors, both crew members, were rescued from the wreckage. The fire that engulfed the plane has since been brought under control.
Initial investigations point to a bird strike as the likely cause of the crash, leading to a malfunction in the aircraft’s landing gear as it was preparing to land at the airport.
Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Seoul, stated that this incident is now being recognized as the deadliest air disaster in South Korea’s history.
King Township Mayor Steve Pellegrini said on Wednesday that the community is sad about the deaths of Rimma Dotsenko, her husband Victor and their three children.
Pellegrini said that it is very sad that our closely connected community has suffered a great loss. He also expressed his sympathy to the Dotsenko family as a representative of King Township.
“We are thinking of the victims’ families during this difficult time and hope to hear more about the investigation soon. ”
The Nashville Police said in another social media post how old the victims are. Victor was 43 years old, his wife Rimma was 39, and they had three children named David, Adam, and Emma who were 12, 10, and 7 years old.
The UMCA Rich Tree Academy, a school in Vaughan, shared on social media that the Dotsenko family has been a part of the school for a long time.
“The school said that all the students had a great attitude and were friendly towards their friends and teachers. ”
“We are very sad and grief-stricken as we mourn the loss of the Dotsenko family. It’s hard to put into words. ” This very sad event has made us all feel surprised and upset. We are thinking of and hoping for the best for the people who are close to them during this very hard time.
The school said that teachers will be there to help and support students who are having a hard time dealing with the loss.
“Please think about and pray for the Dotsenko family and their loved ones. Thank you” UMCA said we should remember the good times we had with them and help each other with love and caring.
A small plane with one engine crashed near Interstate 40 in Nashville, and the pilot and four passengers died.
The plane was kept at the Brampton Flight Centre, which is owned and run by the Brampton Flying Club, according to Allan Paige, the general manager.
He didn’t know if the plane left from there because the airport doesn’t have control and flight records.
We don’t know why the plane crashed, but the pilot told air traffic controllers that the engine stopped working and he flew past the airport. The airplane was flying at an altitude of 2,500 feet (762 metres) above the ground and was circling around to try to land.
Air traffic controllers said he could land on runway two and told him to bring the plane down smoothly. However, the plane had already moved down to 1,600 feet (488 metres) at that time, he said.
I am too distant. “I won’t be able to do it,” the pilot said.
Global Affairs Canada said it knows that five Canadians have died in Tennessee. They are talking to local authorities and helping the families.
“We are very sorry for the loss of the victims and we share our sympathy with their family and friends. ” We are thinking about their families and friends,” Global Affairs said.
At the South Carolina beach, a yellow jet crashed into the surf at 11:35 a.m. on Monday near 40th Avenue North.
According to Cpl. Chris Starling of the Myrtle Beach police, the pilot was taken to a local hospital.
From the shore, onlookers could be seen staring as the plane continued to float in the water around 20 yards away.
South Carolina‘s Myrtle Beach is the scene of an aeroplane disaster.
According to Starling, authorities were waiting for the US Coast Guard and maybe the Federal Aviation Administration to handle retrieving the jet from the water safely.
The pilot’s status wasn’t known right away.
The pilot was apparently able to escape with the assistance of about a dozen individuals who had reportedly already entered the water.
Valerie Randolph, a witness, stated to The Mirror that “this happened right in front of us.” The first male to board the plane was the boyfriend of my daughter.
Ten to fifteen men were supporting the plane while lifeguards freed the man. With the aid of some very heroic spectators, those four to five guards were able to save his life.
There was supposedly no one else in the aircraft but the pilot.
According to WPDE, his aircraft is a 1947-built Piper PA-12 Fixed Wing Single-Engine Aircraft with the registration number N3036M from Barnstormers Aerial Advertising.
Only two days prior, a banner plane near Hampton Beach in New Hampshire attempted to make a water landing but overturned in the air as soon as its nose touched the sea. The aircraft performed a somersault and landed upright in the water.
The pilot was pulled out of the water by state lifeguards even though he was unharmed. There was nobody else in the aircraft. What precipitated the collision was not immediately clear.
Liane McNamara, a witness, reported that the plane crashed not far from where beachgoers were swimming.
Some others questioned whether this was a joke. Is it a prank? McNamara spoke with WMUR. It was quite bizarre. Even now, it seems absurd.
One person was hurt in a shooting in the city the night before the jet crash in Myrtle Beach.
The relatives of a prominent political donor from Florida were among the two deaths on board the plane that crashed in Virginia.
Residents of Washington, DC and the surrounding area were stunned by the unexpected jet crash on Sunday afternoon at around 3:20 pm when they heard a tremendous boom.
Locals heard a loud boom, which NORAD later verified was a military plane being intercepted after entering a restricted airspace.
‘During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares – which may have been visible to the public – in an attempt to draw attention to the pilot,’ the defense organization said.
The plane, identified by NORAD as a Cessna private jet, crashed in the George Washington Forest around 3.30pm. The Cessna’s pilot was unresponsive before the crash.
The occupants were identified as Adina Azarian, 49, as well as her 2-year-old daughter, their nanny, and the pilot, a family member confirmed to the New York Times.
That family member, John Rumpel, is the father of Azarian and grandfather of her daughter.
Rumpel and his wife, Barbara Rumpel are prominent businesspeople and Republican political donors. Barbara has served on the executive committee National Rifle Association’s Women’s Leadership Forum since 2012, according to her LinkedIn page.
Records indicate the couple gave a major donation of $250,000 to a political action committee (PAC) to support the reelection of Donald Trump in 2020.
The plane was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, a company based in Florida and owned by the Rumpels.
Azarian and her daughter were traveling home to East Hampton, New York after visiting him in North Carolina.
The plane appeared to reach its destination in Long Island before inexplicably turning around and flying in a straight line towards Washington DC.
Rumpel said he had little knowledge of the crash, but theorized it was caused by the cabin losing pressurization.
‘It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed,’ Rumpel said.
Investigators found the aircraft’s wreckage in a crater near Montebello, Virginia, the Virginia State Police said on Monday.
The co-pilot of the ill-fated flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday lost her husband in a plane crash 16 years earlier, it has emerged.
Anju Khatiwada was co-piloting Yeti Airlines flight 691 when it smashed into a gorge near the tourist town of Pokhara, killing all on board in the country’s worst air disaster in 30 years.
Her husband Dipak Pokhrel had also been co-piloting a Yeti Airlines flight when he died – and it was his death that spurred Anju to pursue a career in aviation.
Distraught at her loss, alone with their young child, Anju’s grief became her motivating force.
“She was a determined woman who stood for her dreams and fulfilled the dreams of her husband,” family member Santosh Sharma said.
Dipak was in the cockpit of a Twin Otter prop plane which was carrying rice and food to the western town of Jumla when it came down and burst into flames in June 2006, killing all nine people on board.
Four years later Anju was on the path to becoming a pilot, overcoming many obstacles to train in the US. Once qualified, she joined Yeti Airlines.
A trailblazer, Anju was one of just six women employed by the airline as pilots, and had flown close to 6,400 hours.
“She was a full captain at the airline who had done solo flights,” Sudarshan Bartaula from Yeti Airlines said. “She was a brave woman.”
Anju later remarried and had a second child as she continued to build her career. Friends and family say she adored her job, and was a delight to be around. That she and her first husband both died this way is a tragedy within a tragedy.
At the crash site in Pokhara, parts of the plane Anju was co-piloting lay scattered on the banks of the River Seti, strewn like battered pieces of a broken toy. A small section of the aircraft rested on the gorge, windows intact and the green and yellow of Yeti Airlines still visible.
This week’s tragedy has reignited a conversation about airline safety in the Himalayan nation, which has seen hundreds die in air accidents in recent decades.
Over the years, a number of factors have been blamed for Nepal’s poor airlines safety record. The mountain terrain and often unpredictable weather can be tricky to navigate, and are often cited as reasons. But others point to outdated aircraft, lax regulations and poor oversight as equally important factors.
It’s still unclear what caused Sunday’s crash.
Outside the hospital in Pokhara, families of those killed waited for the bodies of their relatives to be released after their post mortems had been completed.
In the bitter cold January air, Bhimsen Ban said he was hoping he could take his friend Nira back to her village soon so her last rites could be performed.
Nira Chantyal, 21, was a singer who often flew with Yeti Airlines. Low cost air travel has become an affordable and popular way for the country’s middle class to traverse the mountainous nation.
Nira, who had moved to Kathmandu, had been on the fight on her way to perform at a music festival in Pokhara.
“She was a very talented artist, and used to sing folk songs. She would often sing spontaneously,” Bhimsen said, his eyes red from crying.
A Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the popular tourist destination of Pokhara crashed and caught fire as it touched down.
Social media videos show an aircraft passing closely above a populated area before abruptly spinning.
On board were four crew members and 68 passengers, at least 15 of whom were foreigners.
Hundreds of Nepalese soldiers are involved in the operation at the crash site in the gorge of the Seti River, just one and a half kilometres from the airport.
Video taken where the plane came down shows thick billowing black smoke and burning debris.
“We expect to recover more bodies,” an army spokesman told Reuters, saying the plane “has broken into pieces”.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency meeting of his cabinet and urged state agencies to work on rescue operations.
Of the passengers, 53 are said to be Nepalese. There were five Indian, four Russians and two Koreans on the plane. There was also one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France among others.
Aviation accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, often due to its remote runways and sudden weather changes that can make for hazardous conditions.
A Tara Air plane crashed in May 2022 in the northern Nepalese district of Mustang, killing 22 people.
Ontario Provincial Police says a plane in Cornwall, Ontario, crashed on the median of Highway 401, injuring two people(OPP).
On Monday evening, a Cessna 150 reportedly crashed in front of the Bainsville ONRoute around 8:15 p.m. after attempting an emergency landing on the highway near the Ontario-Quebec border.
The federal Transportation Safety Board (TSB) launched an investigation into the crash’s causes.
“They attempted to do an emergency landing on the 401,” Isabelle Langevin, the TSB’s director of regional operations for Quebec, said to CTV News Ottawa. “While lining up to land on the highway they struck a power line that crosses the highway south to north at that particular spot and following that collision, the aircraft collided with the ground.”
One passenger, a 39-year-old man, was airlifted to a nearby hospital in serious condition while the second, reportedly a man in his 20s according to Ornge air ambulance, is in life-threatening condition, said acting Sgt. Erin Cranton, a spokesperson for the OPP.
The plane had taken off from the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Airport in Quebec, about 17 kilometres east of the crash.
Police shut down the highway after the crash. 511 Ontario Eastern tweeted that police had reopened it around 4:15 a.m.
A pilot and passenger have both been rescued after spending several hours dangling from power lines following a planecrash.
Per a report from WTOP News, the crash occurred Sunday evening in the Montgomery County area of Maryland. The crash ultimately caused tens of thousands residents to lose power, although service was later confirmed by Pepco to have been largely restored in those areas.
In an initial statement, Maryland State Police said that the plane involved in the crash was a single-engine craft piloted by 65-year-old Patrick Merkle of Washington, D.C. Janet Williams of Louisiana, 66, was simultaneously identified as the passenger on the small plane.
In a subsequent update, additional info was provided, with police stating that the first dispatch occurred just before 6:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. Upon arrival, troopers found the small plane was “suspended in the air” after having crashed into a power line tower and becoming entangled in the wires.
Merkle and Williams were ultimately rescued just before 1:00 a.m. local time, meaning they spent more than six hours suspended in the air. According to police, both individuals were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
When reached for comment by Complex on Monday, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rep confirmed that the agency would be investigating the crash alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with the latter set to lead the investigation.
“A single-engine Mooney M20J crashed into wires near Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Md., around 5:40 p.m. local time Sunday,” the FAA rep said via email. “Two people were on board. The aircraft departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y.”
A rep for the NTSB, meanwhile, confirmed only that it would be investigating the crash when reached by Complex.
A fisherman who was one of the first responders at the site of Sunday’s plane crash in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria, which killed 19, has described how he tried to save the pilots trapped in the cockpit and nearly lost his life trying to save them.
Majaliwa Jackson has been recognized as a hero, receiving 1 million Tanzanian shillings ($430; £370) and being offered a job in the fire and rescue service for his efforts.
Before the government announcement, Mr Jackson told the BBC from his hospital bed in the lakeside town of Bukoba that he panicked when he saw the passenger plane approach from the wrong direction and crash into the lake.
He rushed to the scene with three fellow fishermen and helped to open the rear door by smashing it with a rowing oar which helped passengers seated towards the rear of the plane to be rescued.
Mr Jackson said he then moved to the front and dived into the water. He and one of the pilots then communicated with each other by making signs through the cockpit window.
“He directed me to break the window screen. I emerged from the water and asked airport security, who had arrived, if they have any tools that we can use to smash the screen.
“They gave me an axe, but I was stopped by a man with a public announcement speaker from going down and smashing the screen. He said they were already in communication with the pilots and there was no water leakage in the cockpit,” Mr Jackson said.
He added that after being stopped he “dived back and waved goodbye to the pilot”.
But the pilot then indicated that he still wanted to be rescued.
“He pointed out the cockpit emergency door to me. I swam back up and took a rope and tied it to the door and we tried to pull itwith other boats, but the rope broke and hit me in the face and knocked me unconscious. The next thing I know I was here at the hospital,” Mr Jackson said.
Both pilots are among the 19 confirmed fatalities after the plane – operated by Precision Air, Tanzania’s largest private airline – crashed near the shore of the lake.
IMAGE SOURCE,CHARLES MWEBEYA TBC Image caption, Ropes were used to pull the plane closer to the shore of Lake Victoria
Of the 43 people on board there were 24 survivors, according to Precision Air.
Mourners on Monday paid tribute to the 19 victims at a service held at the local football stadium in Bukoba.
Speaking at the service, Tanzania’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the government would cover the cost of the funerals.
Earlier, he said an extensive investigation would be carried to establish the cause of the crash.
The plane left the commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Sunday and made a scheduled stop at Mwanza before it crashed at around 08.50 local time (05:50 GMT) as it was approaching Bukoba airport.
Occupants of a single-engine aircraftwere killed on Friday after it crashed into a New Hampshire home.
According to NBC News, the tragedy took place at around 7 p.m., shortly after the plane departed from the Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport. Authorities in the City of Keene said the aircraft hit a two-story, four-unit apartment building that housed eight people. Mayor George Hansel told reporters it was “fortunate” that no one on the ground was injured; however, he confirmed the two individuals on the plane “perished” in the fiery crash. The victims’ names have yet to be released.
“I want to first and foremost express the city of Keene’s sympathies to the family members of those who passed away,” Hansel said during a Saturday conference. “I also want to, right off the bat, thank our first-responders … They did an exceptional job at getting this emergency under control quickly last night. And I’m certain their efforts contributed to no further loss of life or injuries, other than those who were on the plane.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash alongside the National Transportation Safety Board.
Scott Gauthier, who lives in the apartment, told NBC10 Boston that he heard a loud noise and felt the building shaking right before his mom began shouting.
“The whole building shook and then my mother went out to check on what was going on and she started screaming, ‘Get out of the house.’” he recalled. “You could feel the flames off the building … I grabbed some clothes and ran out, and as soon as I ran out, the whole barn area was already engulfed.”
Authorities say the residence of the apartment have been displaced and were receiving assistance from the Red Cross.
“Our Disaster Action Team is mobilizing, and we are waiting to hear more what specifically the community needs from us,” the organization said in a statement.
Denny Hamlin sealed back-to-back victories in an incident-packed Daytona 500 on Monday, winning a photo finish in a race marred by a horrific crash that left veteran driver Ryan Newman hospitalized.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Hamlin followed up his victory in 2019 with his third career win at Daytona, becoming the first racer to win the opening leg of the NASCAR season since Sterling Marlin in 1995.
However, Hamlin’s celebrations were muted by a last-lap crash that left Roush Fenway Racing’s Newman in hospital.
The 42-year-old Newman’s Ford Mustang had led on the final lap but spun out of control, hit the wall and flipped onto its roof before bursting into flames at the Daytona International Speedway.
There was no immediate word on Newman’s condition, but several ambulances were brought on the track to attend to the driver as the race finished.
Black screens were erected around the site of Newman’s crashed car as workers tended to the scene.
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in Iran’s capital, Tehran, to vent anger at officials, calling them liars for having denied shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane.
Protests took place outside at least two universities, with tear gas reportedly fired.
US President Donald Trump tweeted support for the “inspiring” protests.
Iran on Saturday admitted downing the jet “unintentionally”, three days after the crash that killed 176 people.
Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, en route to Kyiv, was shot down on Wednesday near Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran shortly after take-off, and only hours after Iran had fired missiles at two airbases housing US forces in Iraq.
Those attacks were Iran’s response to the US killing of senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad on 3 January.
Dozens of Iranians and Canadians, as well as nationals from Ukraine, the UK, Afghanistan and Germany died on the plane.
What happened at the protests?
Students gathered outside at least two universities, Sharif and Amir Kabir, reports said, initially to pay respect to the victims. Protests turned angry in the evening.
The semi-official Fars news agency carried a rare report of the unrest, saying up to 1,000 people had chanted slogans against leaders and tore up pictures of Soleimani.
The students called for those responsible for the downing the plane, and those they said had covered up the action, to be prosecuted.
Chants included “commander-in-chief resign”, referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and “death to liars”.
Fars said police had “dispersed” the protesters, who were blocking roads. Social media footage appeared to show tear gas being fired.
Social media users also vented anger at the government’s actions.
One wrote on Twitter: “I will never forgive the authorities in my country, the people who were on the scene and lying.”
The protests were, however, far smaller than the mass demonstrations across Iran in support of Soleimani after he was killed.
What has been the reaction?
President Trump tweeted in both English and Farsi, saying: “To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you.
“We are following your protests closely. Your courage is inspiring.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted video of the protests in Iran, saying: “The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime’s lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC [Revolutionary Guards] under Khamenei’s kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future.”
The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching.
The aircraft belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed just after take-off from Iran’s Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, said the Fars state news agency.
Preliminary reports suggest that the plane was en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
It is unclear whether the incident is linked to the Iran-US confrontation.
Rescue teams have been sent to the area, near the airport, where the aircraft crashed.
“The plane is on fire but we have sent crews … and we may be able to save some passengers,” Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency services, told state television, according to Reuters news agency.
At least 27 people have died after a passenger plane crashed into houses in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials say.
The victims included nine people from the same family who were in one of the houses hit in the Mapendo area.
The small aircraft went down shortly after taking off from the city’s airport on Sunday morning. The cause of the crash is still unclear.
The plane was carrying 17 passengers and two crew members, officials say.
Air accidents are relatively frequent in DR Congo amid lax safety standards and poor maintenance, and all the country’s commercial carriers are banned from operating in the European Union.
What is known about the air disaster?
The Dornier-228 twin-turboprop aircraft – owned by private carrier Busy Bee – crashed about a minute after take-off, a source at Goma airport told the BBC.
The plane had been scheduled to fly to Beni, 350km (220 miles) north of Goma.
A witness, Djemo Medar, said he saw the plane “spinning three times in the air and emitting a lot of smoke”.
“When the plane crashed many of us rushed there, we know the pilot, his name is Didier; he was shouting ‘Help me, help me’, but we had no way to get to him because the fire was so powerful,” he told Reuters news agency.
Sources said the plane experienced engine failure right after take-off, the BBC’s Emery Makumeno reports from the capital, Kinshasa.
It was not immediately known how many residents were in their homes when the plane crashed.
North Kivu regional governor Nzanzu Kasivita offered his condolences to the families of survivors.
