Transport ministry reveals harrowing final minutes onboard South Korea flight that skidded off runway killing 179 people

The plane crash has been called South Korea’s worst ever aviation disaster

Warning: This article contains graphic images, video and description which some readers may find distressing

The last few minutes ahead of the South Korea plane crash paint a terrifying picture of the dire situation on board.

Authorities have confirmed that 179 out of the total 181 people onboard have died following the Jeju Air Flight 2216 on Sunday (December 29).

The crash has been dubbed the country’s worst ever domestic civil aviation disaster and authorities have been investigating what went wrong with the doomed flight.

A 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet crash-landed at Muan International Airport, about 180 miles south of Seoul, at around 9:03am local time on Sunday.

A disturbing video of the plane crash landing has been doing the rounds on social media and shows the plane fail to land safely, before it crashes into a wall and bursts into flames.

The transport ministry has confirmed what is believed to have happened in the final minutes before the crash.

According to authorities, at 8:54 am air traffic control authorized the aircraft to land on runway one. Three minutes later the tower issued a ‘caution bird activity’ advisory to the flight crew.

Only two people surived the plane crash and are now in hospital (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

At 8:59 am the pilot of the aircraft reported a bird strike and declares ‘mayday mayday mayday’ and ‘bird strike, bird strike, go-around’.

The plane initiated a go-around and requested permission to land on runway 19.

At 9:01 am, air traffic control authorized the landing on runway 19. A minute later the plane made contact with the runway around the 1,200m point of the 2,800m runway. Air traffic control alerted the ‘crash bell’ and the airport fire rescue unit deployed.

At 9:03 am the flight crashed after veering off the runway.

According to local media in South Korea, one passenger onboard the flight sent a text to a family member, where they claimed a bird was ‘stuck in the wing’ which was supposedly stopping the plane from landing.

The country has announced seven days of mourning since the incident(Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Should I leave my last words,” the passenger allegedly wrote. After this message, the relative said that they did not hear from them again.

The government of South Korea has announced a national mourning period of seven days.

Jeju Air has a black banner at the top of its website which reads: “We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident. We will make every effort to resolve the situation.