EPA
Blood feathers and stains belonging to the Baikal Sarcelle were found on the two engines of the Juju Air crushed aircraft.
Investigators claim to have found proof of a bird’s impact on an airliner who crashed in South Korea in December and killed 179 people.
The feathers and blood spots on the two engines of the Jeju Air plane came from the Sarcelle de Baikal, a kind of migratory duck who spins in large herds, according to a preliminary investigation report published on Monday.
The investigation into the accident – the deadliest on the South Korean soil – will now focus on the role of the impact of a bird and a concrete structure located at the end of the track on which The plane crashed.
The engines of the Boeing 737-800 will be demolished and the concrete structure will be examined more in depth, indicates the report.
The Jeju Air plane took off from Bangkok in the morning of December 29 and headed for Muan International Airport, in the southwest of the country.
Around 8:57 am local time, three minutes after the pilots contacted the airport, the control tower advised the crew to be wary of “bird activity”.
At 8:59 am, the pilot reported that the plane had hit a bird and said a Mayday signal.
The pilot then requests authorization to land in the opposite direction, during which he landed on his stomach without his landing gear being deployed. He exceeded the track and exploded after struck the concrete structure, according to the report.
The authorities said the flight data and vocal recorders of the plane cockpit had stopped recording about four minutes before the disaster.
Experts who had piloted the same type of plane as that involved in the accident also questioned the presence of concrete barriers along the track – some suggest that the number of victims would have been lower if they were not Not there.
The concrete structure houses a navigation system that facilitates the landing of planes, called locator.
The South Korean Ministry of Transport said that this system could also be found in other airports in the country and even abroad.
Last week, the authorities announced that they would modify the concrete barriers used for navigation in seven airports in the country. Seven airports will also see their safety areas adapted following an exam.
The preliminary report was submitted to the United Nations aeronautical agency and to the United States, France and Thailand authorities.
