On the morning of December 29, 2024, South Korea's Jeju Air Boeing B737-800 flight "7C2216" taking off from Bangkok, Thailand, crashed while preparing to land at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province. According to official statistics, the flight carried a total of 181 people, including 175 passengers (2 Thai nationals) and 6 crew members. 179 of them died and 2 were injured, making this accident the most serious air disaster in the history of South Korean aviation.
At 8:59 in the morning, flight 7C2216 was suspected of having a bird strike (a collision between an aircraft and a bird), resulting in landing gear failure. The captain tried to return and choose another runway to land. However, during the 180-degree turn, the aircraft eventually landed on its belly and skidded off the runway, hitting a fence and causing an explosion and fire.
The largest air disaster in South Korean history, what happened to flight 7C2216?
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) stated that the captain of flight 7C2216 chose to land in the opposite direction of the runway (Runway 19) instead of the originally scheduled runway 01; this situation is uncommon and will investigate this situation. Was it the captain's independent judgment or was it influenced by the tower's instructions?
South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that in most cases, the final decision to land is made by the captain. At that time, the wind direction was 110 degrees and the wind speed was 2 knots. The wind speed was not strong. This situation allowed the runway to be used in both directions and did not have a great impact on the aircraft operation.
In addition, in response to outside discussions about bird strikes, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea confirmed that flight 7C2216 received a warning of bird activity 2 minutes before the accident; at the time of the accident, there were four staff members on duty at Muan Airport who were responsible for preventing bird strikes. , one of whom is monitoring outdoors. It has been confirmed that the aircraft received a warning of bird activity 2 minutes before the accident.
Currently, South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is fully analyzing two black boxes, including the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), to further determine the cause of the accident on flight 7C2216.
Jeju Air quickly apologized and replaced the black and white photo on social media with contact information.
After the accident, Jeju Air quickly issued an apology statement on its official website and official social media accounts.
Jeju Air's official website changed to black and white and issued a announcement, writing:
Notice
We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident
We will make every effort to resolve the situation.
We sincerely regret the distress caused.
At the same time, Jeju Air changed its black and white photo stickers on official Facebook, Instagram and other platforms, and announced the contact information of the consultation center, including domestic telephone numbers in Korea (080-898-1500) and overseas telephone numbers (+82-1599-8629).
Jeju Air said it sincerely apologizes to the victims and their relatives in the Muan Airport accident. We also promise to do our best to minimize the impact.
CEO Kim Yi-bae issued an apology statement, promising to take all responsibilities and fully assist the families of the victims.
Kim Yi-bae expressed his deep condolences and apology to the victims and their families, and acknowledged his heavy responsibility for the accident. Kim Yi-bae said that the cause of the accident has not yet been determined and the investigation results of relevant government agencies need to be awaited. However, Jeju Air will fully cooperate with the investigation and spare no effort to assist the families of the victims.
Kim Yi-bae emphasized that as the company's top management, he was deeply aware of his responsibilities and promised to complete the accident handling work in the shortest time and minimize the impact; he once again expressed his deep condolences to the victims of the accident and extended his condolences to the public. Sincere apologies.
How to deal with the crisis tests the wisdom of the enterprise! 3 things successful leaders know
In the face of the air crash, although Jeju Air quickly responded and apologized, it still received mixed reviews. How to deal with sudden changes and crises not only tests the business wisdom of companies and brands, but is also an important skill that all leaders and potential talents should learn.
Delta Airlines, also in the aviation industry, demonstrated first-class crisis management capabilities when it encountered the epidemic. Delta Air Lines was burning through US$ 100 million a day in the early days of the pandemic, with revenue plummeting to less than 5% of the previous year. At that time, Delta Air Lines cooperated with the Mayo Clinic to actively formulate a series of epidemic prevention policies and appointed a health officer to be responsible for the well-being of employees and passengers, and to avoid large-scale layoffs. Not only did it help Delta Airlines survive the crisis, it also won the trust and praise of customers. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian once said that he receives thousands of emails every day and sifts through them for information worthy of attention, ensuring that he receives diverse advice from all levels.
Tomorrow or the accident, we never know which one will come first. Only by preparing working methods to deal with emergencies in normal times can we be able to respond with resilience when a crisis strikes. Harvard Business Review recommends that leaders start with the following three questions:
1. Do you have enough diverse sources of information?
Examine whether there are communication blind spots within the organization and ensure that when a crisis occurs, the professional knowledge of all parties can be obtained in a timely manner. Such as conducting scenario simulations to determine whether the required experts or resources are available under different types of crises.
2. Do you regularly incorporate the opinions of others?
Take an honest look at your receptiveness to different opinions and reflect on whether you are relying too much on a fixed circle of advisors. For example, Bastian's openness to hiring outside medical experts during the outbreak rather than relying solely on his internal team was particularly important in handling crisis management.
3. Are there information silos in the organization?
Check the information flow structure within the organization to avoid the dilemma of "Information Isolated Island". In the current digital work environment, it is more important to explore tools or mechanisms externally and collect ideas and suggestions outside of meetings.
When a crisis strikes, a leader's performance is critical to the success or failure of the organization. Successful leaders rely on diverse perspectives and expertise to build resilience and resilience.
Complete apology statement from Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae
First of all, I would like to deeply bow and apologize to all friends who care about Jeju Air.
At around 9:03 a.m. on December 29, 2024, a fire broke out on Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan while landing at Muan International Airport.
Most importantly, we would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the passengers and their families who unfortunately died in this accident.
At present, it is difficult for us to speculate on the cause of the accident, and we need to wait for the official investigation results of relevant government agencies. However, regardless of the cause of the accident, as the person with the highest operational responsibility, I feel a heavy responsibility.
Jeju Air will go all out to speed up the aftermath of the accident and provide support to the families of the victims. At the same time, we will do our best to cooperate with the government to find out the cause of the accident.
We once again pray that the victims of the accident rest in peace, and extend our deep apologies to all the families of the victims.
December 29, 2024
Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, Yonhap News Agency, Jeju Air, Harvard Business Review
