An Air Busan plane caught fire at an airport in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday night, prompting the evacuation of all passengers and crew members, officials confirmed.
The Airbus A321 was set to depart for Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport when a fire ignited near its tail at approximately 10:30 p.m., just before takeoff, fire officials stated.
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Passengers and Crew Evacuate
All 176 individuals on board — including 169 passengers, six flight attendants, and a flight engineer — evacuated using emergency slides, according to a statement from South Korea’s Transport Ministry.
Minor injuries were reported, and at least two passengers were hospitalized due to bruises sustained during the evacuation, the ministry added.
Fire Containment and Investigation
Footage and images of the blaze broadcast by local media depicted fire crews combating flames on the fuselage as thick smoke rose from the aircraft. The plane’s inflatable evacuation slides were deployed, and by 11:30 p.m., the fire was brought under control, the fire department reported.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The Transport Ministry, alongside its Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, has launched an investigation into the incident, officials noted.
Airline Safety Under Scrutiny
Air Busan, a budget airline offering domestic and international flights to and from Busan, is a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, one of South Korea’s primary airlines.
Flight tracking service Flightradar24 indicated the plane had arrived in Busan from Jeju shortly before 9 p.m. local time.
In recent days, South Korean transportation officials urged low-cost carriers to prioritize safety amid profit concerns.
This followed last month’s deadly aviation accident, the country’s worst on record, when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashed into a concrete wall at Muan International Airport, resulting in 179 fatalities and sparking scrutiny over safety protocols.
A safety review conducted by the Transport Ministry disclosed multiple violations of safety standards across seven South Korean airports and several airlines.
The plane involved in Tuesday’s fire, identified as Flight ABL391, bore the registration number HL7763, according to the Transport Ministry.
It was a 17-year-old Airbus A321-200 manufactured in 2007 and had been transferred from Asiana Airlines to Air Busan in May 2017, ministry records showed.
Requests for comments from Airbus and Asiana Airlines went unanswered.
The aircraft, which accommodates 195 passengers, is one of eight A321-200s operated by Air Busan, as stated by Cirium, an aviation data firm.
It is leased from AerCap, an Ireland-based company that supplies jets to global airlines.
Built in 2007, the jet is powered by engines from International Aero Engines, a collaboration involving Pratt & Whitney, Japanese Aero Engine Corporation, and MTU Aero Engines in Germany.
Globally, there are more than 1,500 active A321s of the same generation, Cirium data shows.
Experts suggest that while some of these planes are over 30 years old, proper maintenance ensures their safety and reliability.
The New York Times
