A preliminary report released on Monday has revealed that both engines of the Jeju Air (089590.KS) Boeing 737-800, which crashed last month, contained remains of Baikal Teals, a migratory duck species.
This finding came as authorities continued to investigate the deadliest air disaster in South Korean history.
The six-page report issued a month after the tragic incident, stated the presence of DNA from the ducks, which are known to migrate to South Korea in large flocks during winter.
However, the report did not provide any initial conclusions regarding the crash’s cause, particularly why the aircraft landed without its landing gear deployed and why the flight data recorders ceased recording in the last four minutes of the flight.
The report described the aftermath of the crash, stating, “After the crash into the embankment, fire and a partial explosion occurred. Both engines were buried in the embankment’s soil mound, and the fore fuselage scattered up to 30-200 meters from the embankment.” New images of the accident site were also included in the findings.
Experts suggested that the localizer, which aids in aircraft navigation during the approach, significantly contributed to the high fatality rate. The structure, made of reinforced concrete and earth, may have exacerbated the impact.
The investigation will involve a comprehensive examination of the engines, an analysis of flight and air traffic control data, and a detailed look into the embankment, localizers, and potential evidence of a bird strike.
The exact time the bird strike was reported by the pilots remains unconfirmed, the accident report said, but the aircraft “made an emergency declaration (Mayday x 3) for a bird strike during a go-around.”
“The aircraft was at an altitude of 498 feet (152 meters) flying at 161 knots (298 km/h or 185 mph) about 1.1 nautical miles (2 km or 1.3 miles) from the runway at the moment the flight recorders stopped recording,” it said.
South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board has provided its report to ICAO, as well as to Thailand, the United States, and France—the countries of origin for the aircraft and engine manufacturers, an official stated on Monday.
The report emphasized that these exhaustive investigative activities aim to uncover the precise cause of the accident.
The report does not indicate what may have caused the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) to cease recording at the same time just before the pilots declared an emergency.
On December 29, the Jeju Air flight from Bangkok overshot the runway at Muan Airport, resulting in an emergency belly landing that led to the plane crashing into an embankment housing navigation equipment. Out of the 181 passengers and crew members on board, only two survived the accident.
