A Korean Air-operated Airbus A330-300 aircraft has reportedly overshot the runway at Mactan–Cebu International Airport in the Philippines amidst bad weather and poor visibility in the area late on Sunday night.
Photos of the accident scene that have been posted on social media show the tail of the aircraft tipped into the air after it apparently crashed through the instrument landing system array at the end of the runway.
The 24-year-old aircraft departed Seoul Incheon at around 7:20 pm on Sunday evening but was forced into a holding pattern around Cebu due to poor weather conditions.
Data supplied by Flight Radar 24 shows that the pilots had already made two failed landing attempts before the ‘runway incursion’ occurred on the third landing attempt.
Korean Air operates its Airbus A330-300 aircraft in two configurations with a maximum capacity of 276 passengers.
In a statement, the Seoul-based airline confirmed flight KE631 had been involved in an accident after the aircraft “deviated from the runway due to bad weather during the landing at Cebu Airport”.
The airline said it was investigating the incident without providing any further details. A spokesperson could not immediately confirm whether there had been any injuries among passengers or crew.
Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since... most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.