A handwritten tribute note for the victims of Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 is placed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on Wednesday. The note says, "I regret it that we never had a chance to patch things up. It's late, but I miss you a lot." (Joint Press Corps)
A handwritten tribute note for the victims of Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 is placed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on Wednesday. The note says, "I regret it that we never had a chance to patch things up. It's late, but I miss you a lot." (Joint Press Corps)

A flight attendant who had worked with the captain on the Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 has posted a handwritten note for the victims of Sunday's deadly crash, saying the captain was a kindhearted spirit who was always nice to his co-workers.

"You always impressed me for being so kind and looking out for your colleagues. ... It pained me greatly to hear of the accident," said the writer, identifying him or herself as a flight attendant who accompanied the deceased during a layover at Jeju Island. "We will grieve losing such great people, and pray that you all rest in peace."

Letters of tribute written by bereaved family members of the plane crash victims and others are being posted at a memorial set up at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, where the crash landing occurred.

A handwritten note by a person presumed to be the captain's brother was also found to have been posted near the accident site Tuesday, two days after the fatal accident.

The 45-year-old captain of the ill-fated flight was a seasoned pilot who had logged 6,823 hours of flight time before the crash, including about 2,500 hours since being promoted as a flight captain in March 2019. His flight record was released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation during its investigation into the crash.

"Whether the pilots made an error (in the crash) is part of our investigation, but there have been groundless rumors about the pilots being unqualified to fly the plane," the ministry said, as to why the information was being made public.

The investigation is being conducted into the cause of the accident, particularly why the plane landed without deploying the landing gear. A bird strike and potential mechanical malfunctions are suspected as possible contributory factors.

Of the 175 passengers and six crew members on board the Boeing 737-800, just two flight attendants survived the crash, making it Korea's deadliest aviation accident inside the country.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com