A fire erupted on an Air Busan Airbus A321 on Tuesday night as it was preparing to depart from Gimhae International Airport in Busan for Hong Kong. The blaze, which started in the plane’s tail section just before 10:30 p.m., led to an immediate evacuation of all 169 passengers and seven crew members on board.
Three individuals sustained minor injuries during the evacuation, which was carried out using emergency slides deployed on both sides of the aircraft. Firefighters responded swiftly to the scene, battling smoke and flames as emergency responders worked to control the fire. Video footage from YTN and images from Yonhap news agency showed extensive damage to the plane’s fuselage, with burned-out holes visible along the roof.
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The affected aircraft, a 17-year-old Airbus A321, has been identified by its tail number HL7763. Air Busan, a subsidiary of Korean Air, has not issued a public statement on the incident, though inquiries have been referred to the airline.
The fire comes nearly a month after South Korea’s deadliest air disaster in years, when a Jeju Air flight crashed at Muan Airport in late December. Airbus has confirmed it is aware of the incident and is working with Air Busan to investigate the cause of the fire, though details are still limited.
