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Contact photographer Niki Kapsamunov
What: Asiana Boeing 747-400 Cargo plane en route from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport and to Pudong China
Where: southern resort island of Jeju, South Korea
When: July 27, 2011 3:05am local time
Who: two people
Why: At 7600 feet, the crew reported control problems, and the aircraft’s transponder transmitted the emergency code. Sixty-seven minutes after takeoff, the crew reported fire in the cargo hold and lost contact with ATC. They were planning to divert to Jeju, but instead the plane crashed off of Jeju island. There were strong winds at the time of the plane’s disappearance. The captain was 51 and the first officer was 44; and pilot, Choi Sang-ki, and co-pilot, Lee Jung-woong are still missing.
One wing of the plane has been recovered, then the rest of the wreckage was found by a coast guard patrol boat 67 miles west of Jeju city. The 58 tons of cargo included amino acid solution, synthetic resin, lithium batteries, paint and other potentially dangerous material. A search for the black boxes is ongoing.
Kulula Airlines flight MN-493 had to return and make an emergency landing in Lanseria, South Africa, on November 9th.
