South Korean authorities investigating last month’s Jeju Air plane crash have submitted a preliminary accident report to the UN aviation agency, as well as to officials in the United States, France, and Thailand, an official confirmed on Monday.
The investigation into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil remains ongoing, with the preliminary report released on Monday focusing on the potential role of a “bird strike” and including an analysis of the aircraft’s engines and the “localizer” landing guidance system.
“These all-out investigation activities aim to determine the accurate cause of the accident,” the report stated.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN’s aviation regulatory body, mandates that accident investigators produce a preliminary report within 30 days of an incident and encourages the release of a final report within 12 months.
The Boeing 737-800 jet, which had departed from Bangkok and was scheduled to land at Muan International Airport, overshot the runway while making an emergency belly landing.
It then crashed into the localizer structure, resulting in the deaths of all but two of the 181 passengers and crew members on board on December 29.
The localizer system assists aircraft in approaching the runway with precision. According to experts, the structure supporting the system’s antennae at Muan Airport, which was constructed from reinforced concrete and earth, likely contributed to the severity of the crash.
South Korea Jeju Air Crash (Photo: AFP)The report underscored several initial findings from South Korean investigators, which were shared with the victims’ families on Saturday.
Among the details included in the report was the pilots’ discussion of a flock of birds they had spotted during the aircraft’s final approach.
The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft remains at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, as of December 30, 2024.
The precise moment of the reported bird strike remains unconfirmed, according to the accident report, though it noted that the pilots “made an emergency declaration for a bird strike during a go-around.”
“Both engines were examined, and feathers and bird blood stains were found on each,” the report detailed.
“After the crash into the embankment, fire and a partial explosion occurred. Both engines were buried in the embankment’s soil mound, and the fore fuselage scattered up to 30-200 meters from the embankment,” it continued.
The report does not address the cause of the simultaneous failure of the aircraft’s two data recorders just before the pilots declared mayday.
However, it states that at the moment the black boxes ceased recording, the aircraft was at an altitude of 498 feet (152 meters) and traveling at 161 knots (298 km/h or 185 mph).