Experts question bird strike as cause of S. Korea's deadly plane crash

NEWS WIRES

29 December 2024 at 10:53 am·1-min read

A section of a passenger plane in flames at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday, December 29, 2024.

Experts are questioning whether a collision with a bird could have caused an airliner crash that killed 179 people in South Korea on Sunday after a Boeing 737-800 belly landed at Muan International Airport before skidding down the runway and into a brick wall, where it exploded into flames.

Uncertainties surround the deadliest crash on South Korean soil, experts said on Sunday, questioning initial suggestions that a bird strike might have brought down Jeju Air flight 7C2216.

The apparent absence of landing gear, the timing of the twin-engine Boeing 737-800's belly-landing at Muan International Airport and the reports of a possible bird strike all raised questions that could not yet be answered.

The single-aisle aircraft was seen in video broadcast on local media skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris.

Watch moreSouth Korean airliner crash kills all but two on board

"Why didn't fire tenders lay foam on the runway? Why weren't they in attendance when the plane touched down? And why did the aircraft touch down so far down the runway? And why was there a brick wall at the end of the runway?" said Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas.

Experts said it seemed unlikely a bird strike would have caused the landing gear to malfunction.

(Reuters)

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