Did a chook strike trigger a airplane to crash in South Korea? What we all know up to now

Uncertainty surrounds the deadliest airplane crash on South Korean soil, aviation consultants stated Sunday, questioning the affect of a attainable chook strike cited by authorities on the Jeju Air flight crash.

The obvious lack of touchdown gear, the timing of the stomach touchdown of the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 at Muan Worldwide Airport and reviews of a attainable chook strike have all raised issues. questions that haven’t but been attainable to reply.

The one-aisle airplane was seen in a video broadcast by native media skidding down the runway with out touchdown gear deployed earlier than hitting a wall in an explosion of flames and particles.

“At this level, there are a lot of extra questions than solutions. Why was the airplane going so quick? Why weren’t the flaps open? Why wasn’t the touchdown gear down? ?” stated Gregory Alegi, an aviation knowledgeable and former professor on the Italian Air Pressure Academy.

Horrific footage exhibiting a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 (not a Max) with 175 folks on board concerned in a crash at South Korea’s Muan Worldwide Airport – video reveals the airplane trying a ‘stomach touchdown’ » (with out its touchdown gear prolonged) earlier than impacting. the encircling wall pic.twitter.com/C3JCUz8Iw8

– Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) December 29, 2024

South Korean authorities are investigating the crash of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, together with the affect of a attainable chook strike and climate circumstances. 179 of the 181 folks on board died.

Deputy Transport Minister Joo Jong-wan stated the two,800-meter size of the observe was not a contributing issue and that the partitions on the ends had been constructed to business requirements.

A Jeju Air spokesperson was not instantly accessible for remark. Jeju Air declined to touch upon the trigger throughout press conferences, saying an investigation was underway.

Christian Beckert, a flight security knowledgeable and Lufthansa pilot, stated the video footage prompt that aside from the reversers, a lot of the airplane’s braking methods weren’t activated, making a “huge downside” and a fast touchdown.

Beckert stated it was unlikely a chook strike would have broken the touchdown gear whereas it was nonetheless up, and if it had occurred whereas it was down it will have been troublesome to boost it.

“It is actually, actually very uncommon and really uncommon to not decrease the gear, as a result of there are unbiased methods the place we are able to decrease the gear with an alternate system,” he stated.

The investigation ought to paint a clearer image, he added.

In accordance with world aviation guidelines, South Korea will conduct a civil investigation and contain the Nationwide Transportation Security Board of the US, the place the airplane was manufactured.

Specialists say air accidents are normally brought on by a mixture of things and it could actually take months to piece collectively the sequence of occasions.

Residents at Seoul Station watch footage of the accident. Photograph: AFP by way of Getty

The flight knowledge recorder was discovered at 11:30 a.m. native time (2:30 a.m. Irish time), about two and a half hours after the crash, and the cockpit voice recorder at 2:24 p.m., South Korean officers stated.

Australian aviation guide Trevor Jensen stated hearth and emergency providers would usually be ready for a stomach touchdown, “so it does not appear deliberate.”

Chain of occasions

Inside minutes, the management tower issued a chook strike warning, the pilots declared Mayday after which tried to land, officers stated, though it was unclear whether or not the airplane had hit birds.

“Hen strikes are usually not uncommon, issues with a touchdown gear are usually not uncommon. Hen strikes happen far more usually, however they don’t normally consequence within the lack of an plane of their very own alone,” stated Airline Information editor Geoffrey Thomas.

A chook strike might have impacted CFM Worldwide’s engines if a flock had been sucked into them, however it will not have stopped them instantly, giving pilots time to react, the Australian aviation security knowledgeable has stated Geoffrey Dell.

After the chook strike warning and Mayday declaration, the pilots tried to land on the runway in the wrong way, a Transportation Ministry official stated.

Firefighters and emergency employees transport the physique of a sufferer from the scene of the accident. Photograph: AFP by way of Getty

The change in plans raised extra questions for investigators, stated Marco Chan, a lecturer in flight operations at Buckinghamshire New College and a former pilot.

“It was additionally modified in the wrong way fairly late, which added to the workload,” Chan stated. “There’s a whole lot of guessing video games at this level.”

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179 dead confirmed after plane crash off South K…

The captain of the Boeing 737-800 had labored at this rank since 2019 and had a complete of 6,823 flight hours, the South Korean authorities stated. The co-pilot had held this rank since 2023 and had roughly 1,650 flight hours.

The 737-800 is among the most generally used airliners on this planet, with an total sturdy security report. It was developed properly earlier than the MAX variant implicated in a latest Boeing security disaster.

The birds that hit the airplane alone are unlikely to elucidate the size of the catastrophe, Italian aviation knowledgeable Alegi stated.

“After all there might have been a chook strike,” he stated. “However the penalties are far too vital for it to be the direct reason behind the accident.”