[News Culture] SBS investigative series ‘Unanswered Questions’ is examining a mysterious incident that forced a passenger jet to abandon its landing at Gimhae International Airport.
The episode will reconstruct why an otherwise routine nighttime flight was abruptly diverted and investigate reports of unidentified lights moving through the sky near the airport.
Runway Closed, Flight Diverted
On the night of May 19, a flight from Nagoya, Japan, was approaching Gimhae International Airport in Busan when passengers received an unexpected announcement: all takeoffs and landings had been suspended.
The aircraft was already nearing the airport, and the sudden decision created tension inside the cabin.
The flight was eventually diverted to Incheon International Airport. About 150 passengers spent the night there before boarding buses to Busan early the following morning. What should have been a 90-minute trip stretched to nearly 10 hours, with passengers receiving little explanation for the disruption.
Authorities released few details about what had happened at Gimhae Airport. Witnesses, however, have described an unusually extensive emergency response unfolding on the ground.
Three Lights Across the Night Sky
Multiple witnesses reported seeing unusual lights near the airport that evening.
At around 9 p.m., three green lights were allegedly seen moving through the sky in formation, maintaining a consistent distance from one another.
A source who said they were serving at a nearby military base at the time recalled seeing the lights pass above the barracks. The witness claimed their movement differed from that of a conventional aircraft and estimated that they were flying relatively low, only dozens of meters above nearby apartment buildings.
Gimhae Airport is jointly operated by civilian and military authorities and is subject to strict airspace controls. Reports of an unidentified object entering such a sensitive area immediately raised security concerns.
Claims of an Emergency Military Response
Another witness claimed that the military treated the sighting as a genuine emergency.
According to the account, radio communications described the incident as a “real-world situation,” prompting senior commanders and specialized personnel to respond.
The object was reportedly detected intermittently for nearly two hours before suddenly disappearing. Witnesses argued that its erratic appearance and movement did not resemble those of an ordinary aircraft or commercial drone.
The official conclusion was far less dramatic. After a joint search, the Air Force and police were unable to identify or recover any object. Authorities ultimately closed the case on the assumption that witnesses had misidentified a light source.
No Evidence, but New Questions About UAPs
The incident has drawn renewed attention amid growing international discussion of unidentified anomalous phenomena, commonly referred to as UAPs.
The release of previously undisclosed footage by the U.S. government has intensified global interest in unexplained objects observed in controlled airspace.
Some believe the lights reported over Gimhae Airport warrant further scrutiny as part of that wider debate. Others maintain that the sightings were more likely caused by a visual misperception, an aircraft or a natural phenomenon.
Drawing on witness testimony and records from the night, ‘Unanswered Questions’ will reconstruct the events that brought the airport to a halt and examine what may have crossed the sky above Gimhae.
The episode airs Aug. 1 at 11:10 p.m. KST on SBS.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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