Bird feathers found in engines of crashed Jeju Air jet

EPA firefighters remove a tarpaulin sheet covering the wreckage of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Muan International Airport in Mun, southwestern South Korea, following its crash on Dec. 29, 2024. — Feathers and blood stains belonging to the Baikal Teal were found on both engines of the crashed Jeju Air Plane

Investigators say they have found evidence of a bird strike on a passenger plane that crashed in South Korea in December and killed 179 people.

Feathers and blood stains on both engines of the Jeju Air plane were from a type of migratory duck that files in large flocks, according to a preliminary investigation report published on Monday.

The investigation into the crash – the deadliest on South Korean soil – will now focus on the role of the bird strike and a concrete structure at the end of the runway, which the plane crashed into.

The engines of the Boeing 737-800 will be torn down and the concrete structure will be further examined, the report said.

The Jeju Air plane took off from Bangkok on the morning of December 29 and was en route to Mueang International Airport in the country’s southwest.

At approximately 08:57 local time, three minutes after the pilots made contact with the airport, the control tower advised the crew to be alert for “bird activity”.

At 08:59, the pilot reported that the aircraft had hit a bird and indicated a mayday.

The pilot then requested permission to land from the opposite direction, during which he belly-landed without deploying his landing gear. Reports said it overshot the runway and exploded after slamming into a concrete structure.

A graphic shows the final moments of flight 7C2216, with the plane touching down with the landing gear on the runway near the airport. The photo below shows a Jeju Air plane skidding along the runway. The image below shows the plane in a dark cloud of debris as it hits an embankment.

Officials previously said flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the plane stopped recording About four minutes before disaster.

Experts flying the same type of aircraft involved in the crash have also questioned the presence of concrete barriers along the runway – with some suggesting that the casualty toll would have been lower if they had not been there.

The concrete structure houses a navigation system that assists aircraft landing, known locally as a navigation system.

South Korea’s Transportation Ministry had said that the system could be found in other airports in the country and even overseas.

Last week, officials announced that they would Change solid constraints used for navigation At seven airports across the country. Seven airports will also have their runway safety areas adapted following a review.

Preliminary reports have been submitted to the United Nations aviation agency and authorities in the United States, France and Thailand.