According to the Jeonnam Fire Department, one of the crew members rescued from Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 said: “It looks like a bird strike. Smoke came out of one engine, followed by an explosion.” The crew member was He was transported to a hospital in Mokpo for treatment and is not in critical condition.
Bird Strike as the root cause
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) supported this preliminary assessment, identifying the “bird strike” as the potential primary cause of the accident. During a briefing at the Sejong government complex, MOLIT revealed: “The control tower was alerted by the Jeju Air flight of a possible bird strike shortly before landing. Approximately one minute after the warning, the pilot issued a “Mayday” distress signal and the accident occurred approximately five minutes later.”
The flight recorder was recovered by the accident investigation team and, depending on the situation, the voice recorder is expected to be secured.
Details of the accident
At 9:05 am, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, en route from Bangkok to Muan, collided with the outer runway wall while attempting to land. The aircraft was almost entirely destroyed by fire, except for the tail section. Of the 181 people on board, only two crew members survived and were transported to hospitals in Mokpo.
Source: Yonhap
