South Korean officials have vowed to find out what caused a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air crashed in flames while attempting to land over the weekend, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. A day after the disaster, there were still far more questions than answers about the country’s worst air disaster in decades.
Authorities ordered an immediate inspection of all 737-800s operated by the country’s airlines – dozens of planes in total – after the crash, but there was still no clear indication whether a malfunction system, human error or a combination of factors was due. caused the disaster.
Here’s a look at what we know about the Jeju Air crash and some key questions emerging in the wake of the tragedy.
What happened when the South Korean plane crashed?
Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 took off from Bangkok, Thailand, and approached for its scheduled landing Sunday at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea.
After an initial failed landing attempt, the Boeing 737-800 received a bird strike warning from the ground control center. He then climbed back up before attempting to land a second time.
Two minutes later, the plane’s crew sent a distress signal and attempted to land on another runway. The plane landed three minutes later without extending its nose gear.
It skidded down the runway at high speed, overran the end of the runway and slammed into a concrete fence, exploding in a ball of fire. The only survivors were two crew members rescued from the tail.
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Observers say videos of the crash suggest the plane was suffering from a suspected engine problem, but landing gear malfunction was likely the main reason for the crash.
South Korean Transport Ministry officials said the plane’s flight data and cockpit audio recorders – known as “black boxes” – had been transferred to a research center at Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport. before being analyzed. The ministry earlier said it would take months to complete the investigation into the accident.
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Jeju Air said the accident was not due to “maintenance issues,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas. told BBC News that South Korean airlines were widely considered to follow “industry best practices” and that the aircraft and Jeju Air had an “excellent safety record.”
South Korean plane hits fence protecting antennas
Transportation Department officials said Monday they would examine whether the fence the plane hit — a concrete structure housing an array of antennas designed to guide planes safely during landings — should have been made with lighter materials that would break more easily on impact. They said they were also trying to establish whether there were any communication issues between air traffic controllers and the pilot.
Positioning localizer antennas near the end of the runway, behind unforgiving fortifications, will likely be a priority for investigators..
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“Normally, at an airport with a runway at the end, you don’t have a wall,” Christian Beckert, a flight safety expert and pilot for German airline Lufthansa, told the Reuters news agency. “More often than not, you might have a material arrest system, which allows the plane to sink into the ground a little bit” to slow it down.
Could a bird collision have caused the Jeju Air disaster?
Lee Jeong-hyun, the Muan local fire chief, said Sunday that a bird strike and bad weather could have contributed to the accident, but he stressed that the cause was still under investigation. investigation.
According to CBS News’ sister network, BBC News, a passenger on the flight had messaged a relative before the disaster and told them that a bird “was stuck in the wing” and that he could not land, but authorities have not yet confirmed whether there were any. bird strike.
Geoffrey Thomas, the expert cited by the BBC and editor-in-chief of Airline News, separately told Reuters he was skeptical that a bird strike alone could have caused the fatal crash.
“A bird strike is not unusual. Undercarriage problems are not unusual. Bird strikes occur much more often, but they do not typically result in the loss of an aircraft alone,” he said.
It remains unclear what engine or systems failures the flight crew may have encountered during the final minutes of this ill-fated flight. Experts said video of the crash showed no apparent movement of the plane’s flaps as it descended, which could contribute to slowing the plane, suggesting there could have been a loss of hydraulic pressure which controls mechanical devices.
Hydraulic control systems operate independently and experts say an engine problem is unlikely to affect their operation.
The aircraft also has a manual override allowing pilots to lower the landing gear in the event of an electronic or mechanical failure. It was unclear whether the Jeju Air crew simply did not have time to lower the front wheels manually, or whether some other factor could have prevented them from doing so.
A long and difficult year for the American aviation giant Boeing
The accident ended a troubling 2024 for US aviation giant Boeing, which has been struggling with security issuesA machinists strike And drop in stock prices.
Experts say the 737-800 plane is a more proven model than the company’s much-maligned 737 Max jetliners, which have been linked to fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019.
South Korean authorities nevertheless announced that they would carry out safety inspections on all 737-800s operated by domestic airlines, including 39 by Jeju Air.
contributed to this report.