Collision with birds? Landing gear failure? The fault of a solid wall at the end of the track? Experts are trying to explain Sunday’s deadly plane crash in southwest South Korea, the worst air accident on its soil.
A video broadcast by local channel MBC shows the plane, a Boeing 737-800 from the South Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air, landing on its belly at Muan airport, its engines spewing smoke, before hit a wall and burst into flames.
Of the 181 passengers from Bangkok — 175 travelers and six crew members — only a hostess and a steward survived.
-The birds involved
For the authorities, the presumed cause of the disaster is a collision with birds, which haunts pilots especially when it comes to jet planes whose engines can lose power or stop after sucking in a bird.
The airport control tower had sent a warning to this effect to the flight crew three minutes before the crash. The pilot had issued a warning message before the emergency landing.
“It is plausible that ducks, which are common in the region, played a major role in the accident”estimates Choi Chang-yong, professor of forestry sciences at Seoul National University, to AFP.
Since 1988, bird strikes have caused 262 human deaths and destroyed 250 aircraft worldwide, according to the Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group (AAWHG), a specialist task force established by Australian civil aviation. These figures do not take into account the Muan crash.
One of the most famous cases of aviation incidents involving birds dates back to January 2009, when the pilot of a US Airways Airbus A320 with 155 occupants managed to calmly land on the Hudson River at New York after a collision with a group of wild geese.
-Faulty landing gear?
Since the Jeju Air Boeing landed on its belly, the question of landing gear failure as a result of this collision was raised.
“The landing gear uses a hydraulic system” who nevertheless “need electricity”explains to AFP Kim Kwang-il, professor of aeronautical sciences at the Korean University of Silla and himself a former pilot.
“When a big bird hit the engine, it caused a fire inside. This disrupted the plane’s electrical systems, which run using a generator powered by a motor (…) The bird strike likely damaged these crucial systems, rendering the landing gear inoperable..
“The plane cannot fly indefinitely” and, without these wheels, “he must land on his stomach”says the expert, specifying that the devices are “designed to resist” to this type of situation.
-A wall at the end of the track
Critics are increasingly focusing on the airport’s architecture.
“Despite the emergency, the landing was remarkably well executed”underlines former pilot Kim Kwang-il, “quite upset” subsequently events.
A person mourns in front of a memorial altar for the victims of the Jeju Air plane crash, at Muan Sports Park in South Korea, December 30, 2024 / JUNG YEON-JE / AFP
In videos of the crash, we see the plane first land on its belly and slide on the tarmac. But it smashed a few seconds later against a wall and, under the weight of the impact, the device folded in two, catching fire.
“Normally, there is no such solid obstacle at the end of the runway, it is against the international aviation safety standards recommended by (…) the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (AUESA). The structure in question caused the plane to crash and burst into flames”says Mr. Kim.
“Outside the airport, there are normally only fences (…) which would not cause significant damage. The plane could have skidded further and stopped naturally”continues the specialist, ensuring that he does not have “never seen this kind of artificial structure” elsewhere.
“Most of the passengers died because of this obstacle, it’s upsetting”he concludes, calling on the airport authorities to be held accountable.