Duck DNA, bird feathers found in ill-fated Jeju air jet engines: probe | Aviation news
Both engines of the Boeing 737-800 Jet that crashed in December were killing 179 remains of Baikal Teals, a migratory duck that flies to South Korea for the winter.
Aircraft engines that demolished In South Korea last month, it contained bird remains, a preliminary investigation into the country’s worst aviation disaster has revealed.
A six-page report released Monday by South Korean authorities said both engines of the Boeing 737-800 jet had DNA from Baikal Teals, a species of migratory duck that flies to South Korea for the winter in huge flocks.
Bird blood and feathers were “found on every” engine, it added.
However, the report made no initial conclusions about what may have caused the Jeju plane to land without deploying the gears and why the flight data recorders stopped recording in the last four minutes of the flight.
The probe by South Korean and American investigators continues.
‘Flock of Birds’
The plane was flying from Thailand to Muan, South Korea on December 29 when it crashed and exploded in a fireball after crashing into a concrete barrier.
Disaster killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew of the plane.
“The pilots identified a group of birds while approaching Runway 01, and a security camera captured HL8088 approaching the group of birds during the goal-around,” the report added, referring to the Jeju Airjet’s registration number.
After the air traffic control tower cleared the plane to land, it advised pilots to be cautious of potential bird strikes at 8:58 a.m., the report said.
Just a minute later, both voice and data recording systems stopped workingwhile the plane was already at an altitude of about 152 meters and only 2 km (1.2 miles) from the runway.
Seconds after the imaging systems failed, the pilots declared a Mayday due to the bird strike and attempted a belly landing.
The plane burst into flames when it collided with a concrete embankment during landing, prompting questions about why the type of barricade was in place At the end of the runway.
Last week, the authorities said they would replace such concrete barriers at airports across the country with “breakable structures”.
The captain had more than 6,800 flight hours, while the first officer had 1,650 hours, according to the report.
Both were killed in the crash, leaving only two flight participants to survive.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, requires accident investigators to produce a preliminary report within 30 days of the accident and encourages a final report to be released within 12 months.
South Korea’s Air and Rail Accident Investigation Board shared its report with ICAO and Thailand, as well as the United States and France, which are the home countries of the aircraft and engine manufacturers.
