A PASSENGER plane crashed at an airport in South Korea today, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, in what was one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.

The Jeju Air flight was landing in the town of Muan, about 180 miles south of Seoul, when it skidded off a runway and slammed into a wall when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy. The aircraft then burst into flames.

The Transport Ministry said the jet was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 that was returning from Bangkok and that the crash had happened at 9.03am.

A total of 179 people died in the fire, the South Korean fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled two people, both crew members, to safety. Health officials said they were conscious and not in a life-threatening condition.

Of the 179 bodies, officials have so far identified 88, the fire agency said. The passengers were predominantly South Korean, but there were also two Thai nationals among them.

Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television channels showed the Jeju Air plane skidding across the runway at high speed, apparently with its landing gear still closed, overrunning the airstrip and colliding head on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the facility, triggering an explosion.

Muan fire chief Lee Jeong Hyeon told a televised briefing that the plane had been completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly remaining recognisable among the wreckage.

He said that workers were looking into various possible causes of the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds.

Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong Wan said workers had retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane’s black box, which will be examined by government experts.

It may take months for investigators to complete the probe, Mr Lee said.

In a statement, Jeju Air offered a “deep apology” for the crash and pledged to do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident.”

At a televised news conference, Jeju Air president Kim E Bae bowed deeply with other senior company officials as he apologised to bereaved families and said he felt “full responsibility” for the disaster.

Mr Kim said the company hadn’t identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft in regular checks and that he would wait for the results of government investigations into the cause of the crash.

Family members wailed as officials announced the names of some victims at a lounge in the Muan airport.

Boeing said in a statement on Twitter that it was in contact with Jeju Air and was ready to support the company in dealing with the crash.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the aircraft manufacturer said.