Three Dead After Navy Plane Crashes in South Korea; Jeju Air Incident in Vietnam

Seoul – A South Korean navy patrol aircraft crashed into a mountain in Pohang on Thursday afternoon, killing three of the four people on board. The P-3C maritime patrol plane had taken off from a naval air base at 1:43 p.m. for a routine training mission. Just seven minutes later, it went down in a nearby mountainous area under unknown circumstances, according to navy officials.

Emergency responders arrived quickly at the crash site and recovered three bodies from the wreckage. One crew member’s condition has not been confirmed. Firefighters were also dispatched to contain the fire caused by the crash. No civilian casualties have been reported.

The South Korean Navy confirmed the crash and said an investigation unit has been formed to determine the cause. Acting President Lee Ju-ho was briefed by Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho. He has instructed officials to make every effort to rescue any survivors and minimize environmental damage from the crash.

The P-3C aircraft, known for its anti-submarine warfare capabilities, is nicknamed the “submarine killer.” The South Korean navy operates 16 of these planes. This incident marks the first recorded crash involving a P-3C in South Korean military service.

In a separate aviation incident, a Jeju Air flight carrying 183 passengers and six crew members experienced a runway issue in Vietnam. Flight 7C2217, a Boeing 737-800, departed from Incheon and landed at Da Nang International Airport around 12:50 p.m. on Wednesday. While taxiing after landing, the aircraft briefly veered into a safety zone beside the runway before returning to the tarmac.

A tyre on the aircraft’s landing gear burst during the incident. All passengers safely disembarked without injuries. Jeju Air replaced the damaged tyre and sent another aircraft of the same model from South Korea to operate the return leg, flight 7C2218.

The return flight was delayed by over 14 hours and eventually took off from Da Nang at 4:08 p.m. local time. South Korea’s Ministry of Transport has launched an investigation into the cause of the runway deviation.

Both incidents have raised concerns about aviation safety, though officials stress that full investigations are ongoing to determine the specific causes behind each event.