Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 181 people on board, crashed tragically as it was landing at a South Korean airport.
According to BBC, the plane returning from Bangkok, Thailand, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members that crashed on Sunday morning, December 29, 2024, at about 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT).
A South Korean transport official said that the plane was attempting to land when the incident happened that killed all people on board except two lucky crew members who were rescued from the wreckage.
As the investigation for the crash begins, “bird strike” has raised as one of the most expected reasons for the crash.
The transport official also revealed that the plane was forced to hold off landing and was given a bird strike warning from the air traffic control when it was trying to land. After two minutes of the warning, the pilot called in a Mayday, and the air traffic command allowed them to land in the opposite direction.
Moreover, the local media reported that one of the passengers on the flight also messaged a relative that a bird "was stuck in the wing" and the plane could not land.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey Dell, an Australian airline safety expert, said, “I’ve never seen a bird strike prevent the landing gear from being extended.”
Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations noted, “Bird strikes are a significant risk to aircraft, and the danger depends on factors like the bird’s size, the aircraft’s speed, the location of the strike and the engine design.”
Furthermore, Lee Jeong-hyun, the chief of the Muan fire department, said a bird strike and bad weather may have caused the crash, but the exact reason for the crash is not known now, and the investigation is underway.
