South Korea released a preliminary report into last month’s deadly Jeju Air Co crash that offers more detail on the role of bird strikes in the disaster, while still leaving crucial questions unanswered.
The report sheds additional light on the final minutes of the flight, as well as analysis of the aircraft’s engines. The crash killed all but two of the 181 passengers and crew on board after the plane belly landed, overran the runway at Muan International Airport, then crashed into an embankment and exploded into a fireball.
An analysis of communication shows how quickly the incident unfolded. Air traffic control staff warned the Jeju Air pilots about the risk of birds one minute before the plane issued a mayday emergency declaration for a strike. The aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice recorder stopped recording about the same time, when the jet still had 151.79m of altitude and was traveling at 161 knots.
Photo: AFP
It crashed about four minutes later.
Feathers and bloodstains recovered from the Boeing Co 737-800 aircraft’s engines were analyzed and found to be from a flock of Baikal teal ducks. A security camera also captured the plane coming close to birds while executing an aborted landing go-around, the report said.
The report is the first official run down of South Korea’s deadliest aviation disaster, which shocked the world and rattled the country’s longstanding reputation for safety. The incident has sparked a sprawling examination of the nation’s infrastructure and would see authorities alter airport designs and remove embankments found at several other airports.
Still, the gaps in flight data mean investigators are missing key evidence. The report noted the jet’s landing gear did not deploy, but it is unclear why. It is also unknown why the cockpit crew did not extend landing flaps and slats that would have helped slow the incoming aircraft or why the pilot, undertaking a go-around after his first landing attempt, did not make a full circle and instead was cleared to land in the other direction of the runway.
South Korea pledged an “all-out investigation” to determine the cause of the accident, the report said.
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