Korean Air jet overshoots runway in Philippines, no injuries reported

A Korean Air jet lies with its belly on the runway at the airport in Cebu, the Philippines on October 24, 2022, after it overshot the runway on late October 23 while landing in bad weather. Photo: VCG

A Korean Air 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 A330 widebody 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 (15:07 GMT), 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 KE631. "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.

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.

Korean Air has not had a ­fatal passenger crash since 1997, according to Aviation Safety Network, a website that compiles aviation accidents.

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.