Did bird strike contribute to South Korea plane crash? What we know

More than 170 people have died after a the plane crashed while landing in South Korea Sunday morning.

The Jeju Air plane veered off the runway before crashing into a wall at Muan International Airport in the southwest of the country.

The plane, which was coming from Bangkok, Thailand, was carrying 181 people – 179 of them died, while two crew members were saved from the damage.

Officials are investigating the cause of the crash, which fire officials say may have been caused by a bird strike and bad weather. However, experts have warned that the accident may occur due to several factors.

The plane, 7C2216, was a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air, Korea’s most popular airline.

The plane landed in Muan at about 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT).

South Korea’s air traffic control said the plane attempted to land but was forced to stop after air traffic controllers issued a bird strike warning – a warning about the risk of a bird strike.

About two minutes later, the pilot called a Mayday and air traffic control gave permission for the plane to land in another direction, the official said.

One passenger on the plane texted a family member, saying the bird was “stuck in the wings” and that the plane was unable to land, local media reported.

Another video appears to show the plane touching down without using its wheels or other landing gear. It jumped down the runway and crashed into a wall before bursting into flames.

A witness told South Korean news agency Yonhap that he heard a “huge explosion” followed by “several explosions”.

Footage from the scene shows the plane on fire with smoke billowing into the sky. Firefighters extinguished the fire.

Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Muan Fire Department, said on television that the tail section of the plane was clear but “one cannot make out the shape of the rest of the plane”.

He said bird strikes and bad weather were likely factors in the crash – but the exact cause is still under investigation. The plane and the in-flight recorders have been found.

Jeju Air’s chief executive said the crash was not due to “any maintenance problems”, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea’s transportation department said the pilot had been on the job since 2019 and had more than 6,800 flight hours.

A bird strike is a collision between an airplane and a bird. It’s very common – in the UK, there were more than 1,400 bird strikes reported in 2022, with only around 100 involving the aircraft, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority.

The most famous bird strike occurred in 2009, when an An Airbus plane crashed into the Hudson River in New York after colliding with a flock of geese. All 155 passengers and crew survived.

Professor Doug Drury, who teaches aviation at CQUniversity Australia, wrote in an article on Discussion in the summer that Boeing airplanes have turbofan engines, which can be seriously damaged by bird strikes.

He said that pilots are trained to be alert especially at dawn or after sunset, when the birds are active.

The plane was carrying 175 people and 6 crew members. Two of the passengers were Thai and the rest are believed to be South Korean, authorities said. Many are thought to have returned from a Christmas holiday in Thailand.

The death toll is 179 – making it the deadliest disaster in South Korea’s history.

All passengers and four crew members died.

Authorities have identified at least 88 bodies.

Five of the dead were children under the age of 10. The youngest was a three-year-old child and the oldest was 78 years old, officials said, citing a passenger display.

South Korea’s National Fire Agency said two crew members – a man and a woman – survived the crash. They were found on the tail side of the plane after it crashed and were taken to hospital, it said.

More than 1,500 emergency workers have been deployed as part of the recovery effort, including 490 firefighters and 455 police officers. They have been searching the area around the runway for parts of the plane and its occupants.

President Choi Sang-mok declared a special disaster area in Muan, making the central government available to the government and victims.

All flights to and from Muan International Airport have been suspended.

The families of the people affected by the accident have been going to the airport with the aim of finding out what happened to their relatives. Footage from Reuters shows officials reading the names of the victims aloud.

Airport officials and the Red Cross have set up more than a dozen tents at the airport for bereaved families to mourn in private.

The sound of crying could be heard from the terminal. Some are frustrated by how long it takes to identify bodies.

Jeju Air has apologized to the families. His boss said at a press conference that the plane had no history of accidents. Sunday’s crash is believed to be the only fatal accident since the airline was launched in 2005.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has issued an apology to those affected.

Choi, the president of South Korea, said: “I express my deepest condolences to the many people affected by the accident. I will do everything in my power for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

The government has announced that the country has a period of mourning for the next 7 days, during which the flag in government offices will be lowered.