MANILA: A Korean Air Lines Co Ltd jet with 173 people on board overshot the runway at Cebu International Airport in the Philippines late on Sunday, the airline said, adding that there were no injuries and all passengers had evacuated safely.
The Airbus SE A330 wide body flying from Seoul to Cebu had tried twice to land in poor weather before it overran the runway on the third attempt at 23:07, Korean Air said in a statement on Monday.
“Passengers have been escorted to three local hotels and an alternative flight is being arranged,” the airline said of flight KE361. “We are currently identifying the cause of the incident.”
Video from the scene verified by Reuters showed widespread damage to the plane.
The nose landing gear appeared to have collapsed.
Korean Air President Keehong Woo issued an apology on the airline’s website, saying a thorough investigation would be carried out by Philippine and South Korean authorities to determine the cause.
“We remain committed to standing behind our promise of safe operations and will do our very best to institute measures to prevent its recurrence,” Woo said yesterday.
The A330-300 jet involved in the accident was delivered new to Korean Air in 1998, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, which said that other flights to Cebu had diverted to other airports or returned to their origin.
The Cebu airport said on its Facebook page that it had temporarily closed the runway to allow for the removal of the plane, meaning all domestic and international flights were cancelled until further notice.
The airline had a poor safety record at that time but sought outside help from Boeing Co and Delta Air Lines Inc to improve its standards. — Reuters
