A bird strike may have been the cause of a devastating plane crash in South Korea over the weekend that left 179 dead and only two survivors.
In a video the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen landing on its belly at Muan International Airport and skidding down the runway with no landing gear deployed before hitting a wall and exploding.
Several theories are circling the crash of the Jeju Air flight, including a bird strike warning issued by officials, a reported absence of landing gear and the weather, with no answers in sight yet.
In compliance with international aviation rules, South Korean officials will lead a civil investigation and involve the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States where the plane was made.
Seoul’s Deputy Transport Minister Joo Jong-wan confirmed however that the runway’s length was not a contributing factor, and that the length and walls at the ends were built to industry standards.
The flight data recorder was found on Sunday morning, about 2½ hours after the crash, and the cockpit voice recorder shortly after that, which revealed that in just a few minutes, the control tower issued a bird strike warning, the pilots declared mayday and then attempted to land.
Officials said it was not clear whether the aircraft had hit any birds and that after the warning and mayday, the pilots had attempted to land on the runway from the opposite direction.
The South Korean government also confirmed the experience of the pilots, with the captain of the plane having worked at that rank since 2019 and logged 6823 flight hours and the first officer since 2023, with approximately 1650 flight hours logged.