All however two of the 181 folks aboard a passenger aircraft in South Korea had been killed on Sunday morning, within the deadliest international aviation catastrophe in years.
Days after the Jeju Air crash, there may be little rationalization about why the aircraft went down. As investigators attempt to piece collectively what occurred, video from the scene and early official experiences provide clues.
The pilot reported a hen strike at 8:59 a.m. and advised air visitors controllers at Muan Worldwide Airport that he would abort his touchdown try and circle within the air to organize for an additional one. As a substitute of going all the way in which round, he approached the runway dealing with south at excessive pace.
The aircraft missed the standard landing zone and landed a lot farther alongside the runway than regular. It then hurtled down the touchdown strip on its stomach, leaving a path of smoke.
The pilot appeared unable to manage the engines and no touchdown gear was seen because the aircraft made contact with the runway — two important components in slowing a aircraft down throughout touchdown. The aircraft additionally didn’t seem to have activated its wing flaps, one other technique of controlling pace.
The aircraft ultimately overshot the runway and crashed right into a concrete construction.
On the finish of the video, the aircraft had burst into flames.
The plane was a Boeing 737-800 jet, one of the frequent passenger planes on the earth. It had taken off from Bangkok with six crew members and 175 passengers, most of whom had been South Koreans returning dwelling after a Christmas trip in Thailand.
Officers recovered the aircraft’s “black field,” an digital flight recorder that incorporates cockpit voice and different flight knowledge that assist investigations of aviation crashes.
The system was partly broken, so it may take time to recuperate the information, based on specialists, but it surely may show essential in figuring out what occurred within the 4 fateful minutes between when the pilot reported a hen strike and when the aircraft crashed.
Sources: South Korean transport ministry; satellite tv for pc picture by Maxar Applied sciences
Aviation analysts are contemplating a number of components which may have contributed to the crash, together with the concrete construction close to the runway that the airline slammed into earlier than exploding right into a fireball.
Related concrete buildings exist in different airports in South Korea and overseas, mentioned Ju Jong-wan, a director of aviation coverage on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It was constructed based on laws however the authorities deliberate to analyze whether or not the principles must be revised within the wake of the Jeju Air crash, he mentioned.
Picture by Chang W. Lee/The New York Occasions
A satellite tv for pc picture captured on Monday confirmed dozens of autos on the web site of the wreckage. The work of piecing collectively lots of of physique elements has been painstaking, however the authorities mentioned that by Tuesday morning, 170 our bodies had been recognized and 4 had been turned over to their households.
Supply: Satellite tv for pc picture by Planet Labs on Dec. 30
The crash was the deadliest worldwide since 2018, based on the United Nations, when Lion Air Flight 610 crashed off the coast of Indonesia, killing all 189 folks on board.
