Air Busan A321 Engulfed in Flames at Gimhae Airport

An Airbus A321 was caught in a massive inferno at Gimhae International Airport just before departure.

By: Yu Le

Published on: 30 January 2025, 10.11 p.m. (GMT+8)

The A321's roof was completely destroyed after the blaze. Photo: Son Hyung-joo/Yonhap

An A321-200, registered HL7763, was engulfed in flames at Gimhae International Airport on Jan 28 just before departure. There were no reported fatalities, and all 176 were evacuated from the plane.  Seven people are currently receiving treatment for injuries.

The 17-year-old Airbus operating Air Busan 391 was starting its pushback when a fire erupted from the back of the aircraft. The pushback was halted, and the crew attempted to extinguish the flames and instructed passengers to remain seated in their seats, according to passengers. 

Finally, as smoke continued to fill the cabin, a passenger and a flight attendant opened emergency exits. Out of the seven injuries reported, four were sustained from the evacuation itself, while three had breathing problems due to excessive inhalation of smoke.

Testimonies from passengers indicate that the fire began in the overhead luggage compartment, where there was a crackling sound, with smoke coming soon after. The source of this sound has yet to be identified. 

Around an hour after the deployment of fire trucks, the firefighters tried their best to stop the blaze before finally extinguishing all flames at 11.31 p.m. local time (0231Z) The aircraft is likely unsalvageable and will have to be scrapped. 

This crash comes at a time when South Korea is still reeling from the devastating crash of a Jeju Air 737-800 just a month prior at Muan airport, killing everyone instantly upon impact.