South Korea plane crash is the deadliest in a year marked by several fatal aviation accidents

South Korea's worst aviation disaster in decades also was the year's deadliest plane crash worldwide, and time is running out on 2024. A Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air came down with its front landing gear closed and struck a concrete fence Sunday at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea, killing 179 people.

The deadliest accident in aviation history occurred in 1977, when two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on a foggy runway on the Spanish island of Tenerife, killing 583 of the 644 people on board the planes. Spanish investigators blamed the captain of the KLM 747 for taking off without clearance from air traffic controllers.

In an act of terrorism, nearly 3,000 people died when al-Qaida hijackers crashed four jetliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a field in southwest Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

These are some of the significant aviation accidents that happened in 2024:

Jan. 2: A large passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on a Tokyo runway. All five people in the coast guard plane died, but all 379 on the Japan Airlines escaped before the jet became engulfed in flames.

June 10: A military plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima of Malawi and former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri crashes in bad weather in the southern African nation's mountainous north. They and the eight other people on board are killed.

July 24: In Nepal, a Saurya Airlines plane crashed shortly after taking off from the capital of Kathmandu, killing 18 people; one of the pilots survived. The Bombardier CRJ 200 plane was flying to a maintenance shop, and most of the passengers were mechanics or airline employees.

Aug. 11: A turboprop operated by Brazil’s Voepass crashes, killing all 62 people on board. A preliminary report indicated that pilots saw ice building up on the outside of the plane, indicating a possible problem with the deicing system.

Dec. 22: A small plane crashed in a mostly residential area of a Brazilian town popular with tourists, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen on the ground. The cause was not immediately clear.

Dec. 25: An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan, killing 39 people; 29 survive. Azerbaijan’s president said the plane was shot down accidentally by Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the “tragic incident," but stopped short of accepting responsibility.

Dec. 28: A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 jetliner crashes in Seoul, killing 179 people. After an initial failed landing attempt, the plane received a bird strike warning from the ground control center. The pilot issued a distress signal before the plane came down, overshot the runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames. Two crew members survive after being pulled from the rear of the plane.

The tomb of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near the Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People mourn at the grave of flight attendant Hokume Aliyeva during a funeral of the crew members of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 killed in a deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan this week, at the II Alley of Honor in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP photo)

In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers work at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, a rescuer search at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 laying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

Rescue team members work at the site of a plane fire at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok, wearing a green jacket, visits the site of a plane fire at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Mourners watch the site of a plane fire from outside of Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.

Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.

By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.

“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”

Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.

It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.

Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.

Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.

“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.

Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.

The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.

When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.

Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.

“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”

Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.

“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”

And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.

Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.

Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.

While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.

Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.

Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.

“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)