Plane crash: What is known about the accident in South Korea

A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 was warned of a bird strike by the control tower shortly after 9 a.m. during its first attempt to land at Muan Airport in southwestern South Korea. A few minutes later, the pilot of the plane coming from Bangkok made an emergency call and tried to land again. A video shows an attempted “belly landing” – i.e. without the landing gear extended. The plane skids along the runway as smoke rises from the engines. At the end of the runway, the plane crashes into a wall and bursts into flames.

Investigations have been initiated. Authorities suspect that the accident was caused by a bird strike and adverse weather conditions. When asked whether a runway that was too short could have been a factor in the disaster, an official said it was probably not a factor.

A bird strike is a collision between one or more birds and one or more objects. Such a collision can have dangerous consequences for an aircraft, especially if birds are sucked into the engine air intakes. There have been a number of fatal accidents due to bird strikes around the world.

The water landing of a US Airways Airbus A320 on the Hudson River in New York in 2009 attracted particular attention: a bird strike had previously damaged both engines. The incident became known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” because no one was hurt.

A total of 175 passengers and six crew members were on board the Boeing from Bangkok to Muan, which is about 288 kilometers southwest of the South Korean capital Seoul. Rescue workers were able to rescue two people alive from the wreckage – both of them were crew members. According to authorities, the people on board had “low chances of survival” and the plane was “almost completely destroyed” in the accident.

South Korean aviation has a solid safety record. It was the first fatal crash for Jeju Air since its founding in 2005. In 2007, a Bombardier plane operated by Jeju Air with 74 passengers on board skidded off the runway at the southern Busan-Gimhae Airport due to strong winds. A dozen people were injured.

The deadliest aircraft accident on South Korean soil to date occurred on April 15, 2002: an Air China Boeing 767 flew into a mountain on its way from Beijing to Busan-Gimhae Airport in South Korea – killing 129 people.