South Korea aircraft crash probe raises questions on potential hen strike, airport infrastructure

South Korean officers have vowed to search out out what precipitated a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operated by Jeju Air to crash into flames because it tried to land over the weekend, killing all however two of the 181 individuals on board. A day after the catastrophe, there have been nonetheless way more questions than solutions concerning the nation’s worst aviation catastrophe in a long time.

Authorities ordered an instantaneous inspection of all 737-800 plane operated by the nation’s airways — dozens of planes in whole — following the crash, however there was nonetheless no clear indication as as to if a system malfunction, human error, or some mixture of things had precipitated the catastrophe.

Here’s a take a look at what is understood concerning the Jeju Air crash, and a few key questions rising within the wake of the tragedy.

What occurred within the South Korean aircraft crash?

Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 departed from Bangkok, Thailand, and approached for its scheduled touchdown Sunday at Muan Worldwide Airport in southern South Korea.

After an preliminary failed touchdown try, the Boeing 737-800 obtained a hen strike warning from the bottom management heart. It then ascended once more earlier than attempting to land a second time.

Two minutes later, the aircraft’s crew despatched a misery sign and tried to land on a distinct runway. The aircraft touched down three minutes later with out decreasing its nostril touchdown gear.

It skidded alongside the runway at excessive pace, overshot the top of the runway and slammed right into a concrete fence, bursting right into a fireball. The one survivors have been two crew members rescued from the tail part.

Observers say movies of the crash urged the aircraft was affected by suspected engine bother, however the touchdown gear malfunction was probably the principle purpose for the crash.

South Korean Transport Ministry officers stated the aircraft’s flight information and cockpit audio recorders — the so-called “black bins” — have been moved to a analysis heart at Seoul’s Gimpo Worldwide Airport forward of research. The ministry earlier stated it will take months to finish the investigation of the crash.

Jeju Air stated the crash was not attributable to “any upkeep points,” in accordance with South Korea’s Yonhap information company, and aviation professional Geoffrey Thomas advised BBC Information that South Korea’s airways have been broadly deemed to comply with “business finest follow” and that each the aircraft and Jeju Air had an “glorious security file.”

South Korean aircraft skidded right into a fence shielding antennas

Transport Ministry officers stated Monday that they might look at whether or not the fence the aircraft hit — a concrete construction which housed a set of antennas designed to information plane safely throughout landings — ought to have been made with lighter supplies that may break extra simply upon impression. They stated they have been additionally attempting to determine whether or not there have been any communication issues between air site visitors controllers and the pilot.

The positioning of the localizer antennas near the top of the runway behind unforgiving fortifications will probably be a magnet for investigators.

“Usually, on an airport with a runway on the finish, you do not have a wall,” Christian Beckert, a flight security professional and pilot for German provider Lufthansa advised the Reuters information company. “You extra [often] have possibly an engineered materials arresting system, which lets the airplane sink into the bottom slightly bit” to gradual it down.

Might a hen strike have precipitated the Jeju Air catastrophe?

Lee Jeong-hyun, the chief of the native Muan hearth division, stated Sunday {that a} hen strike and dangerous climate may have contributed to the crash, however he harassed that the trigger was nonetheless beneath investigation.

In keeping with CBS Information accomplice community BBC Information, one passenger on the flight had messaged a relative earlier than the catastrophe and stated a hen “was caught within the wing” and that it could not land, however officers haven’t but confirmed whether or not there was any hen strike.

Geoffrey Thomas, the professional cited by BBC and the editor of Airline Information, advised Reuters individually that he was skeptical a hen strike alone may have precipitated the lethal crash.

“A hen strike just isn’t uncommon. Issues with an undercarriage will not be uncommon. Chicken strikes occur way more typically, however sometimes they do not trigger the lack of an airplane by themselves,” he stated.

It remained unclear what, if any engine or programs failures the flight crew might need been contending with in the previous few minutes of the ill-fated flight. Specialists have stated video of the crash confirmed no obvious motion of the aircraft’s flaps because it got here down, which will help gradual an plane, suggesting there may have been a lack of hydraulic strain that controls the mechanical gadgets.

The hydraulic management programs function independently, and specialists stated an engine drawback can be unlikely to have an effect on their operation.

The plane additionally has a handbook override for pilots to decrease touchdown gear within the occasion of an digital or mechanical failure. It was unclear if the Jeju Air crew merely did not have time to decrease the nostril wheels manually, or if another issue may have prevented them from doing so.

A protracted, onerous 12 months for U.S. aviation big Boeing

The crash wrapped up a troubling 2024 for U.S. aviation big Boeing, which has grappled with security issues, a machinists strike and plunging inventory costs.

Specialists say the 737-800 plane is a extra confirmed mannequin than the corporate’s much-maligned 737 Max jetliners, which have been linked to deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Nonetheless, South Korean authorities stated they’re going to conduct security inspections on all of the 737-800s operated by home airways, together with 39 by Jeju Air.

contributed to this report.