Experts have questioned whether bird strikes were the sole cause of a deadly plane crash in South Korea.
Speaking on Australia’s Today program, aviation expert Professor Ron Birch said there could be something more “sinister” going on.
“The initial reports indicating that a bird strike or weather could be a factor, to me, a bird strike alone is enough to bring down the aircraft or foresee the landing gear not being able to shut down.” “I think it’s very unlikely that that’s the case. Please act effectively,” he said, Nine reported.
Balch added that the pilots would have known the risk of landing was high, especially without thrust reversers or flaps to slow the aircraft.
“So, this is just speculation, but maybe something more sinister on board could have been responsible.”
The plane ultimately crashed, killing 179 people, making it South Korea’s worst aviation accident.
“No problem.”
Jeju Air’s passenger plane was found to have “no problems” during a standard pre-flight inspection before the crash.
Jeju Air CEO Kim I-bae said there were “no special or abnormal problems in the maintenance process” of the aircraft before the crash at Muan Airport.
“We are not in a position to know whether the landing gear functioned properly or not, as this is directly related to the accident investigation,” he said at a press conference in Seoul.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 was heading from Thailand to South Korea when it crashed upon landing at Muan Airport just after 9 a.m. local time on Sunday.
According to the BBC report, Kim added that if the plane’s maintenance team had not approved it as safe, it would not have been allowed to take off.
He said the company’s pilots were trained to regulatory standards and the company had two full flight simulators.
“We have 12.9 mechanics per aircraft, up from 12 in 2019,” he said.
“We have a strict maintenance checklist and can’t afford to miss anything. If something were missing, it would be a major problem.”
The chief executive denied the airline was overflying, but said it would cut air traffic by 10 to 15 percent this winter to increase maintenance work on its aircraft.
The airline said it was preparing compensation for the victims’ families, including covering funeral expenses.
South Korea is observing seven days of mourning over the disaster. New Year’s celebrations have been canceled and flags have been flown at half-staff.
Authorities began releasing the bodies of plane crash victims to their families on Tuesday.
Minister of Transportation Park Sang-woo said at Muan Airport, “We have completed the process of handing over the bodies of four of the 179 victims to their families for funerals.”
He added that funerals for some of the victims, whose identities have been identified and autopsies completed, began on Tuesday.
Local broadcaster KBC reported that one family lost nine members. Among them was the plane’s oldest passenger, who was on his first overseas trip to celebrate his birthday.
Five of the dead passengers were children under the age of 10, including a 3-year-old boy who was killed along with his parents as they returned from their first family holiday abroad.
Video of the crash shows the Boeing 737-800 skidding on the runway, hitting a concrete barrier and bursting into flames.
Officials announced Tuesday that they were investigating the role of concrete barriers in the disaster.
Authorities initially suggested a bird strike may have been the cause, but experts have also warned against the fence after dramatic footage showed a Boeing 737-800 crashing into the fence and bursting into flames.
When asked if it was permissible to use concrete for airport barriers, Kim Hong-rak, director of the Airport Policy Bureau, said the government would “consider related regulations and their application.”
“The accident investigation committee will thoroughly investigate whether this structure caused more damage,” said Ju Jeong-wan, vice minister of civil aviation.
– With additional reporting from AFP.
