At 10:26 PM on the 28th, a fire occurs in the tail section of an AIR BUSAN plane bound for Hong Kong at Gimhae Airport, and firefighters are conducting rescue operations. The fire erupts before takeoff, and it is reported that 176 individuals, including passengers, have evacuated. /Courtesy of News1
At 10:26 PM on the 28th, a fire occurs in the tail section of an AIR BUSAN plane bound for Hong Kong at Gimhae Airport, and firefighters are conducting rescue operations. The fire erupts before takeoff, and it is reported that 176 individuals, including passengers, have evacuated. /Courtesy of News1

At around 10:26 p.m. on the 28th, a fire broke out in the tail section of the AIR BUSAN flight BX391 preparing for takeoff at Gimhae Airport.

It is reported that 176 people, including 170 passengers and 6 crew members, escaped using the slides without any casualties. During the escape, 4 individuals sustained minor injuries, and 2 of them were transported to the hospital, but their lives are not in danger.

According to the Aircraft Technical Information System (ATIS) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the aircraft involved in the incident, registered as HL7763, is an Airbus A321-200, manufactured on Oct. 30, 2007, and is 17 years and 3 months old. It was first registered by Asiana Airlines, AIR BUSAN's parent company, on Nov. 13 of the same year, having been acquired through leasing, and was transferred to AIR BUSAN on July 1, 2017. All 21 aircraft currently held by AIR BUSAN are Airbus models, of which 8 are the same A321-200 model (excluding A321-200 neo) involved in this incident.

The fire department received reports of a fire in the rear upper section of the aircraft at around 10:26 p.m. and dispatched units that arrived on the scene at around 10:34 p.m., 8 minutes later, to extinguish the fire.

However, as black smoke billowed and flames rapidly spread to the front, the fire department issued a first-level response alert around 10:38 p.m., four minutes after their arrival, mobilizing nearby fire resources into the firefighting operation. A first-level response means that all personnel from the jurisdiction's fire station are dispatched. The fire was brought under control by around 11:24 p.m. and was fully extinguished by 11:31 p.m., but it is reported that the aircraft's fuselage was completely destroyed.

Due to the fire, two flights, one bound for Taiwan on EASTAR JET and another for the Philippines on JIN AIR, were delayed by about 40 minutes each. Since Gimhae Airport operates until 11 p.m., there are no flights scheduled for departure or arrival after that time. Korea Airport Service stated on the morning of the 30th that they were confirming the status of flight operations.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established a central accident management headquarters led by the head of the aviation policy office and is operating a regional accident management headquarters at the accident site under the leadership of the director of the Busan Regional Aviation Office to manage the situation. The Busan city government is also sending officials from related departments, including the head of the Social Disaster Division of the Citizen Safety Office, to support the response.