It was supposed to be another ordinary flight, whisking passengers from South Korea to Hong Kong amidst the festive buzz of the Lunar New Year holiday. But Air Busan Flight ABL391’s passage turned into a chaotic and potentially catastrophic situation when a fire broke out onboard, sending 176 passengers and crew scrambling for their lives.
A Routine Flight Turns Chaotic
It was late Tuesday night in Busan, South Korea. The clock had already struck past the flight’s scheduled 10:15 p.m. departure time from Gimhae International Airport. Inside the plane, passengers were settling in for what they thought would be an uneventful journey. But anticipation turned into panic as flames erupted from the overhead bins in the plane’s rear left.
Witnesses would later describe how passengers sat frozen at first, unsure of what to do. Then chaos exploded as flames licked out from the gaps in the overhead bin doors. “People were screaming trying to get out, but there was a line, so they were stuck,” recounted passenger Shin Min-su, vividly capturing those harrowing moments of confusion and fear.
No Words from the Cockpit
As the fire spread, the cabin filled with thickening smoke. Passengers shouted and pushed their way toward the exits. Yet despite the fiery urgency, many accounts revealed a glaring absence: there was no announcement from the cockpit. Crew members relayed the situation to the captain, who had reportedly shut off the plane’s hydraulic and fuel systems and declared an emergency evacuation. However, according to the airline, “there was no time for a separate announcement.” This left passengers unsure of what was happening or how to act.
Rather than structured guidance, pandemonium consumed the cabin. Desperate to escape, some passengers tried to open emergency exits themselves, while others anxiously called for someone—anyone—to unlock the doors. For many, the absence of a guiding voice in a moment of crisis would cause lasting unease.
Passenger-Led Evacuation
In scenes reminiscent of an action movie, passengers like Kim Dong-wan took matters into their own hands. He and others forced open some of the plane’s emergency doors, deploying slides and jumping to safety. Flight attendants managed to open at least one emergency door, but as videos later recorded by disembarked passengers revealed, the evacuation was anything but smooth.
Footage showed thick clouds of smoke billowing from the fuselage as evacuees tumbled down the slides onto the tarmac below. Without anyone stationed to assist their landing, people rolled off the slides haphazardly. Cries for family members echoed, mingling with relief that the plane hadn’t yet taken off. “We’re lucky we didn’t take off!” one shaken passenger remarked.
Fire Contained, but Questions Linger
By 11:30 p.m., firefighters extinguished the blaze, focusing efforts on protecting the plane’s wings, which stored 35,000 pounds of fuel. While the fire left the Airbus A321-200’s fuselage destroyed, incredibly, all 176 onboard survived—a near-miracle considering the circumstances. Three passengers suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, and four flight attendants were briefly hospitalized after inhaling smoke. By the next morning, only one passenger remained in the hospital.
The initial investigation had not identified any prohibited items aboard the aircraft, leaving the fire’s root cause under scrutiny. Yet amidst the sighs of relief, serious questions loomed about the airline’s handling of the emergency.
Protocol Under the Microscope
Did the crew of Air Busan Flight ABL391 follow the safety protocols expected of them? Aviation experts raised doubts.
According to Kim In-gyu, managing director of the Korea Aerospace University’s Flight Training Center, the captain should have immediately announced emergency procedures over the intercom. Clear, concise instructions delivered loudly—whether by the captain or cabin crew armed with megaphones—are meant to guide passengers during such incidents. Without such guidance, passengers understandably panicked, leading to the chaotic evacuation caught on video.
Global aviation expert Keith Tonkin highlighted an ideal scenario: flight attendants actively taking charge, evacuating passengers systematically while maintaining order. Yet on this flight, passengers reportedly initiated much of the evacuation themselves. Mr. Kim added that standard procedure dictates flight attendants first lead passengers away from the fire, proceed down evacuation slides ahead of them to help individuals safely disembark, and only open non-emergency doors themselves. The apparent lack of adherence to these steps sparked debate over whether the crew had been adequately trained to manage such emergencies.
Airline and Official Responses
Air Busan, a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, publicly defended its crew, insisting they had followed protocol to the best of their ability. Still, the airline apologized to passengers and promised full cooperation in the investigation into the fire’s cause.
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport also weighed in. Officials announced that a counterterrorism investigation revealed no indications of foul play, dismissing concerns about prohibited items being smuggled onboard. The ministry made no immediate determinations about whether safety measures were adequately followed during the evacuation.
A Nation Under Scrutiny
The timing of this incident could not have been worse for South Korea’s aviation sector. Barely a month had passed since South Korea witnessed one of its worst aviation disasters. In December, a Jeju Air jet crashed at Muan International Airport, killing 179 people and leaving only two survivors. Investigators from that tragedy discovered damning safety lapses: several budget airlines had failed mandatory checks, and some regional airports were not in compliance with international recommendations.
In the wake of that December crash, the government ordered urgent reforms targeted at budget airlines, covering everything from reducing pilots’ flight hours to increasing maintenance crew availability. This latest near-disaster aboard Air Busan only amplified the urgency for action.
Counting Blessings
Could tragedy have been averted through better preparation? Experts like Kim In-gyu believe so. Yet he also acknowledged the grim reality: the timing of the fire may have been the saving grace. “If the plane had been on time, if it were in flight,” he noted, “it would have been a very serious situation.”
Passengers and crew escaped with their lives, and for that, there is a collective sigh of relief. Yet as the wrecked Airbus stands testament, deeper questions about underlying safety standards remain. The people onboard took away more than shock from their ordeal—they became witnesses to a system that had cracks even as it narrowly avoided disaster.
