The apparent impact with a flock of birds and the landing gear failure seem key to understanding the accident suffered on Sunday by South Korean Jeju Air flight 7C2216, an accident still surrounded by unknowns that has left 179 dead and only two survivors, hitting entire families hard.
Possible causes
Six minutes before landing, leaving the runway and exploding when it hit a wall, flight 7C2216, a Boeing 737-800, received from the control tower from Muan airport (290 kilometers southwest of Seoul) an avian risk alertwhich is emitted when a large flock of birds or large birds is detected around the plane’s path.
Two minutes later, the captain issued a “mayday” or distress alert before landing without deploying the landing gear or apparently other braking mechanismssuch as spoilers (the moving plates located on the top of the wings that increase air resistance) or reverse thrust of the engines (which diverts the direction of the exhaust and reduces acceleration).
Experts consider, however, that engine failure (images captured before landing show flames on the right propeller, possibly due to the impact with a bird) It shouldn’t have affected the other systems and that it will be necessary to clarify whether, in addition to the alleged crash, there could also be some defect in the aircraft or in its maintenance.
It is expected that The investigation takes at least six months and can last years.especially after learning that one of the two black boxesthe flight data recorder (FDR), was partially damaged and decoding it will take longer.
The plane, the pilots and the runway
The newspaper The New York Times, citing the consulting firm Cirium, detailed that the crashed Boeing 737-800 belonged to the Irish Ryanair, which had leased the aircraft to the South Korean low-cost company Jeju Air since 2017 and that the device has around 15 years old.
The captain of the flight, 45 years old, had accumulated 6,823 flight hourswhile his co-pilot, 35, added 1,650.
Most of that experience also corresponded to the 737-800, since the pilot had 6,096 flight hours with the model and his second on board 1,339.
Some have pointed out that 300 meters of Muan runway were under construction for a future expansionleaving 2,500 meters to land.
Officials from the South Korean Ministry of Transportation cited by the Yonhap agency indicated in any case that the damaged model It is capable of landing without problem on runways that are only 1,500 meters long..
The victims
The characteristics of the flight, mainly booked through travel agencies, has meant that Entire families will find themselves on board during a very popular travel season in South Koreawhen the brief holiday break at the end of the year and the intense winter cold coincide and many opt to go to warm destinations in Southeast Asia.
Among the many families traveling on the plane were, for example, nine people from four different generations of a single clan who traveled to Bangkok, where the flight departed, to celebrate the birthday of the oldest passenger on 7C2216, a 78-year-old man.
Local media also talk about groups of already retired colleagues flying on the Boeing, where most of the travelers were between 40 and 60 years old, although the victims included five children under 10 and another nine who did not reach the age of 20.
The airport in Muan, capital of South Jeolla province, one of the most rural in the country, is used almost exclusively by the inhabitants of the region, where almost all of the passengers seemed to reside.
Relatives who were waiting for the arrival of their loved ones have explained to South Korean media that received instant messages from loved ones, some even jokingindicating that the crew had informed them of a problem on the plane due to the collision with a bird.
The survivors
Only two people survived the crash. both flight attendants who were traveling in the tail of the planewhich was apparently the part least affected by the landing, crash and explosion.
One of the survivors, a 33-year-old man named Leeis admitted to the intensive care unit of a Seoul hospital with several fractures (one of them in the left shoulder) and a reserved prognosis, although he is conscious and apparently does not suffer any memory loss.
The other is a 25-year-old woman named Koo and has also been transferred to a medical center in the South Korean capital.
The flight attendant has suffered head and ankle injuries and is believed to be stable and, according to the firefighters who rescued her, she told them that “smoke started coming out of one of the engines and then it exploded.”
