Jeju Air passenger’s chilling final text about crash in South Korea

A passenger aboard the doomed Jeju Air flight texted a relative with a final message moments before the plane crashed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames in South Korea, killing 179 people.

One of the passengers aboard the jet, which flew from Thailand to Muan International Airport on Sunday morning, texted a relative that a bird was stuck in the plane’s wing, according to News1 agency.

“Shall I say my last words?” the passenger texted their relatives, according to the outlet.

Video captured the terrifying moment the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway with no working landing gear and slammed into a wall in a fiery explosion.

Two crew members survived, but everyone else on board is presumed dead, officials said. The victims – including 85 women, 84 men and 10 others who could not be immediately identified – died in the fire, the South Korean fire service said.

The lone pair of survivors were pulled to safety. Officials said they were not in life-threatening condition.

All passengers were South Korean nationals, except for two Thai nationals, officials said.

Around 1,570 firefighters, police officers, soldiers and other rescue workers were sent to the scene after the crash.

Terrifying recordings shows the Boeing jet explosion as it happened – with the plane appearing to land on its belly, sparks and smoke flying from the runway before crashing and exploding in a fireball.

The plane had attempted to land once before the crash, but was forced to “go around” and try again when the landing gear did not descend.

Officials are investigating various theories about what caused the crash, including whether the plane was struck by birds, according to Muan Fire Chief Lee Jeong-hyeon.

Transport Ministry officials said the airport’s control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in another area.

The pilot then issued an emergency signal just before the plane overshot the end of the runway and slid over a buffer zone before hitting the wall, the officials said.

The plane’s black box has been retrieved and will be examined as part of the investigation. The runway at Muan airport will be closed until January 1, Transport Ministry officials added.

With Post wires