South Korea tragedy is ninth incident with Boeing this YEAR together with 6,000ft drop, in-flight fireplace, Vilnius airport crash…in addition to mysterious loss of life of security whistleblower

Investigations are ongoing after a Boeing jet skidded off a runway in South Korea this weekend, crashing into a concrete wall and causing the plane to burst into flames and killing 179 people on board – the youngest being a three-year-old boy.

It is just the latest in a tragic spate of incidents involving the airline’s planes in the past year, including a cargo flight that lost control on approach to Lithuania and crashed into a house, killing one and injuring three.

Another plane – a Boeing 737 carrying 78 passengers – caught on fire and suffered serious damage when a failed takeoff attempt sent it skidding off the runway and into the bush at an airport in Senegal this summer.

It comes after the mysterious death of a Boeing employee-turned-whistleblower who was hailed as a ‘brave, honest man of the highest integrity’.

John Barnett is thought to have taken his own life and was giving evidence against the company before his death, but his lawyers have called on police to investigate what happened because he was in ‘very good spirits’.

From 2010 until his retirement, Mr Barnett worked as a quality manager making the 787 Dreamliner, a state-of-the-art airliner used on long-haul routes.

In that job, he ‘learned of and exposed very serious safety problems’ with the plane and was ‘retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment’, his lawyers claimed.

After retiring, he began long-running legal action against the company and hoped to force it to change the culture.

On March 9, Mr Barnett, 62 – a former quality control manager and employee of 32 years – was found dead in his truck outside a South Carolina hotel days after testifying against the company in a lawsuit.

The coroner put it down to a ‘self-inflicted’ gunshot wound in the head, though the police confirmed that they would investigate further.

Barnett had made a string of complaints to his higher-ups in his time as a quality control manager before leaving the company on health grounds in 2017.

In January 2024, he appeared on TMZ to say that the 737 Max 9 aircraft were being launched back into the air too soon in the wake of an accident, suggesting corners had been cut.

Boeing 737 loses door plug at 16,000ft on a flight from Portland

On the 5th of that month, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 – a Boeing 737 Max 9 – had lost a door plug at 16,000ft on a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.

That part is designed to replace an unneeded emergency exit door, and it blew out within just 20 minutes of takeoff.

An emergency landing was required and the plane landed safely, but a teddy bear, two mobile phones, a child’s t-shirt were all said to have have flown out during the incident.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 of the 737 Max 9s in the aftermath and six of the flight’s passengers went on to sue the airline.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines also went on to find loose parts on their grounded jets’ door plugs.

On April 4, the airline announced that they had received $16million in compensation from Boeing after their 737 Max 9s were grounded following the January 5 door blowout.

The amount was equal to the revenue lost according to a filing from the airline, but Alaska added that it anticipated receiving extra compensation too.

The CEO of Boeing said at the time: ‘Whatever final conclusions are reached, is accountable for what happened. An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers.’

Boeing 737 engine catches fire mid-air above Texas minutes into its journey

On March 6 2024, a 737’s engine caught fire in mid-air above Texas, causing an emergency landing minutes into its journey to Fort Myers, Florida.

The very next day, a wheel fell off a Boeing 777-200 shortly after takeoff from San Francisco, crushing cars below.

The plane with 235 passengers and 14 crew diverted to Los Angeles Airport after it was alerted to the landing gear failure.

It landed safely with no further incident and no injuries reported on the ground.

Front tyre of Boeing 737 burst upon landing in Turkey

On May 9, Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 plane’s front tyre burst upon landing at an airport in southern Turkey.

There were no casualties and all 190 passengers and crew were evacuated.

The front landing gear strut was damaged on the Corendon Airlines plane, arriving from Cologne, Germany, as it landed at Alanya-Gazipasa airport in Antalya.

It was the third passenger aircraft built by the manufacturing giant to suffer a technical problem or crash in just two days.

Pictures from the scene showed the stationary aircraft on the tarmac flanked by emergency vehicles – its front wheels and landing gear crumpled underneath. 

Corendon Airlines denied Turkish reports that the aircraft had landed on its nose.

Boeing 737 skids off runway in Senegal injuring 11 

Also on May 9, a Boeing passenger plane came off the runway during takeoff from Dakar international airport, injuring 11 people and shutting the hub for hours.

The Air Senegal flight was bound for the Malian capital Bamako and had 78 passengers on board, plus a crew of six including two pilots, airport management company LAS said in a statement.

Images showed the aircraft in an overgrown area with first aiders surrounding an injured person. Smoke and flames were also visible near the plane.

Shocking images revealed the plane operated by Senegalese carrier Transair nestled in the dirt with a gaping hole in the left engine that was covered in firefighting foam in the aftermath of the blaze.

The Boeing 737-300 carrying 78 passengers suffered serious damage when a failed takeoff attempt sent it careening off the tarmac and into the bush at Blaise Diagne airport near the capital city Dakar.

A clip taken by one horrified traveller showed a female customer sprinting away from the scene of the wreckage as flames poured from the 737’s left engine, lighting up the night sky.

That flight took off from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and was headed for Istanbul when the pilot realised the landing gear was malfunctioning.

Fortunately, firefighters and rescue teams were already waiting at the scene, with Turkey’s transport ministry having dispatched emergency teams as soon as it learned that the pilot’s landing gear was not working.

The first responders flocked to surround the plane as it ground to a halt and immediately doused it with firefighting foam to prevent any potential fire from sparking.

Boeing 777 from London to Singapore plummeted 6,000ft in five minutes

In May, one person died and others were injured on a flight from London to Singapore which plummeted 6,000ft in five minutes before making an emergency landing in Thailand.

The Boeing 777 plane operated by Singapore Airlines left Heathrow airport on Monday evening at 22.17pm local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.

However, flight SQ321 experienced severe turbulence while flying close to Myanmar airspace in a region being battered by extreme tropical thunderstorms.

After around 11 hours of flying time from take off in London, the aircraft sharply dropped from an altitude of around 37,000 feet to 31,000 feet within just five minutes as it finished traversing the Andaman Sea and neared Thailand.

Boeing said: ‘We are in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding flight SQ321 and stand ready to support them.

‘We extend our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.’

Goh Choon Phong, the CEO of Singapore Airlines, made a front-facing apology after the ‘extreme turbulence’ incident.

‘We are deeply saddened by this incident,’ Phong said. ‘On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.’

Cargo flight span out of control in Lithuania

A DHL cargo flight lost control as it approached Vilnius Airport in Lithuania on November 25 and crashed into a house, killing one person aboard and injuring three others.

The Boeing 737-400 had travelled from the German city of Leipzig to the Lithuanian capital and was just one mile from touching down on the runway when the fiery crash occurred around 5.30am local time (3.30am GMT).

Shocking images from the scene showed debris strewn about frost-covered ground as firefighters raced to extinguish a blaze after the aircraft careened into a wooded area and skidded some 100 metres before slamming into the two-storey building.

Both pilots miraculously survived the ordeal, albeit with significant injuries, according to Paulauskas, who told national broadcaster LRT that rescuers managed to pull them from the wreckage.

One member of the four-person crew – a man with Spanish nationality – was reportedly found dead at the scene, Lithuanian media reported.

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft made a turn to the north of the airport and lined up for landing before crashing a little more than 1.5 kilometres, or one mile, short of the runway.

The DHL aircraft, a Boeing 737-400, was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor.

The Boeing 737 was 31 years old, which is considered by experts to be an older airframe, though that is not unusual for cargo flights.

DHL official Ausra Rutkauskien confirmed the plane belonged to the company, while Boeing offered a short statement saying it was ready to help with investigations into the crash.

Boeing 737 caught fire mid-flight, forced to make emergency landing in Brazil 

On November 11,  a Boeing 737-400F was destroyed after it caught fire mid-flight.

It was forced to make an emergency landing in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The craft, operated by cargo airline Total Linhas Aereas, was flying from Vitoria to Sao Paulo when the crew received a cargo fire warning, forcing the emergency landing.

About five minutes before landing, radio contact was lost with the pilots, although the transponder continued to work normally.

This transmitted the plane’s height and position information to the air traffic controllers at Guarulhos Airport.

Controllers reported seeing fire coming from the aircraft, resulting in the crew evacuating the plane via ropes from the cockpit windows. 

Airport emergency services responded and attended the scene to extinguish the fire, which engulfed much of the roof.

Boeing 737 veered off runway after hydraulics failure

In Norway, a jet just avoided disaster as it skid off the runway following a suspected hydraulics failure yesterday.

The plane was a Boeing 737-800 – the same type of jet which crashed in South Korea.

The KLM Royal Dutch Airlines jet made an emergency landing at Oslo Torp Sandefjord Airport.

It experienced hydraulic failure shortly after takeoff from Oslo-Gardermoen Airport carrying 176 passengers and six crew members.

While landing, the plane veered off the right side of the runway, stopping on the grass. 

Emergency crews responded  and all passengers were safely evacuated via boarding stairs.

KLM said in a statement: ‘Our passengers were transported to Oslo by bus last night and provided with hotel accommodation if required. KLM will send an aircraft this afternoon to pick up passengers in Oslo. They will be assisted both at Oslo Gardermoen airport and in Amsterdam.

‘KLM’s technical team will arrive in Sandefjord this morning to investigate the circumstances of the incident together with local authorities and the airport in accordance with aviation procedure, and retrieve the aircraft as soon as possible.’

The incident is under investigation, and authorities are working to determine the cause of the hydraulic failure.

Boeing 737 crash in South Korea killed 179 people

The latest of the devastating incidents is the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 passenger jet which crashed on the runway at Muan International Airport this weekend after skidding and crashing into a concrete wall, causing the plane to burst into flames.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are ‘profoundly saddened’ by the plane crash in South Korea that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.

Charles and Camilla said they will mourn the 179 lives lost, with those who died and their grieving families ‘in our prayers’.

The royal pair said in a statement: ‘My wife and I were profoundly saddened to learn of the horrific air accident at Muan, which resulted in such grievous loss of life.

‘As the people of the Republic of Korea mourn this disaster, the families and loved ones of all the victims are in our prayers. Charles R.’

Sir Keir Starmer also sent his ‘deepest condolences’ to the victims of the fatal plane crash.

‘I send my deepest condolences to the victims and families of those who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash in Muan,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘I pay tribute to the work of the emergency responders and my thoughts are with the people of the Republic of Korea and Thailand at this terrible time.’

It is believed a bird strike could have caused the tragic crash, with footage seemingly showing the moment the aircraft was struck while in the air.

But aviation experts said a bird strike should not have crippled the landing gear of the doomed plane.

The aircraft is thought to have encountered a flock of birds as it came in to land at the airport this morning.

The doomed plane attempted a belly-landing before skidding off the 2,800-metre runway, ploughing into a concrete wall and bursting into flames.

The single-aisle aircraft was seen in video broadcast on local media skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flames and debris.

A South Korean transport official earlier said that the plane had attempted to land but was told by the air traffic control to hold off after giving a bird strike warning.

Around two minutes later the pilot called a Mayday and was given permission to land from the opposite direction.

The head pilot had been in his role since 2019 and had more than 9,800 hours of flight experience.

Boeing said it was in contact with the airline Jeju Air and was ‘ready to support them.’

‘We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,’ a statement read.

As yet there is no confirmed explanation as to what caused the Boeing aircraft to crash. 

In January, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged errors by the planemaker.

He told staff the company would ensure an accident like the mid-air Alaska Airlines panel blowout ‘can never happen again.’

The company’s top planemaking official, Stan Deal, also told a somber town hall meeting at its Renton, Washington 737 factory that Boeing acknowledges ‘the real seriousness of the accident’ as it launches checks into its quality controls and processes.

Calhoun said he had been ‘shaken to the bone’ by the accident, which rekindled pressure on Boeing over its troubled small plane family almost five years after a full-blown MAX safety crisis sparked by deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.