Authorities Confirm Timeline Of Jeju Air Plane Crash — Mayday Declared

This article is part of our coverage of Jeju Air Flight 2216's Deadly Crash. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.

On the morning of December 29, Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea after departing from Bangkok, Thailand.

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In chilling text messages sent minutes before the crash, a passenger noted the plane encountered a bird strike.

Jeju Air Passenger Sends Chilling KakaoTalk Messages Minutes Before Fatal Crash

Hours after the incident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport confirmed, “The control tower sent a bird strike warning before the landing. The pilot declared Mayday a minute later.”

“Mayday” is a distress signal used when facing a life-threatening emergency. An aircraft that has declared Mayday receives immediate assistance and priority over other regular airplanes.

The ministry further revealed that, while the exact figure is still to be confirmed through investigation, it is believed the time between the distress signal and the landing is about two minutes.

The authorities have secured the flight data recorder for investigation.