From bird strike to fireball How the country's worst aviation disaster unfolded

"A bird is stuck in the wing. We can't land," one passenger on board Jeju Air flight 7C2216 sent out in a text just before 9am on Sunday. "Should I write my final words?"

- Raphael Rashid

Minutes later, the Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people veered off the runway and burst into flames, resulting in South Korea's deadliest aviation disaster.

The flight from Bangkok, full of holidaymakers, had been routine until 8.57am, when air traffic controllers at Muan international airport spotted something concerning and radioed a bird strike warning to the cockpit. Seconds later, the pilots declared "mayday, mayday, mayday".

A man fishing on a beach near the airport, in the south-west of the country, witnessed the aircraft's final moments. He reported seeing a flock of birds collide with the right-side engine, followed by two or three "bangs" and then flames.

At 9.03am, with its landing gear failing to deploy, the aircraft skidded along the runway before crashing into a concrete navigation aid structure and a perimeter wall in an explosion of flames and debris. The official cause of the accident has yet to be determined.

Within 13 minutes, authorities had declared a level 3 emergency, mobilising 80 firefighters, 32 fire engines, and rescue teams from across the region. For 43 agonising minutes, firefighters battled the inferno before the flames were contained at 9.46am.