Agustawestland AW139 accident near Jeju International Airport, Kr, February 23, 2011
On February 23, 2011 at about 8:20 pm local time, a Agustawestland AW139 (helicopter), registered B516, was destroyed in an accident near Jeju International Airport. It was flown under rules the NTSB did not record. The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 2011 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Jeju International Airport, South Korea
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Agustawestland AW139
- Registration
- B516 · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · rules the NTSB did not record
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On February 23, 2011 at about 8:20 pm (local), a Korean Coast Guard Agusta Westland AW139 crashed into shallow seas about 70 miles west of JeJu International Airport, Republic of Korea with 4 crewmembers and 1 passenger on board. The helicopter took off from Jeju International Airport and picked up an officer needing emergency medical assistance from a patrol ship stationed in waters west of the island. The command center lost contact with the crew shortly after picking up the passenger. The passenger's body was recovered with the wreckage on March 24, 2011. The search for the 4 crewmembers in ongoing. The Korea Aviation & Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) is leading the investigation of this accident. For further information, contact: Mr. Myung Soo Kim, Investigator In Charge Korea Aviation & Railway Accident Investigation Board 281, Gonghang-dong, Gangseo-ku Seoul, Republich of Korea 157-815 Tel: +82-2-6096-1037 Mobile: +82-10-3518-8718 e-mail: pilotmsk@korea.kr This report is for informational purposes and contains only information obtained for or released by the ARAIB.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: Jeju Airport
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.