Pilots of doomed South Korean plane ‘switched off wrong engine' after flying into birds before crashing and killing 179
Published: Invalid Date,
THE pilots of the doomed South Korean plane appeared to switch off the wrong engine after flying into birds before crashing.
The crash at Muan International Airport on December 29 killed 179 people after the plane did an emergency landing, hit a concrete slab at the end of the runway, and exploded into a fireball.
5
5
Officials took back copies of the interim findings from reporters after grieving relatives of victims killed in the crash disrupted a news conference of Saturday.
They accused them of prematurely blaming the pilots for the devastating crash.
Prior to the media event, investigators told relatives and their representatives that they had concluded that there was no engine defect on the plane.
They added that various errors by the pilots had led them to land the aircraft too quickly, without the wheels being down.
Preliminary findings confirmed the conclusions that aviation experts had reached from the plane's final path, as well as horror video footage captured from the fatal crash.
In the final four minutes of the doomed flight, power to the aircraft's flight recorders was cut off - initially obstructing the investigation.
After going into the flock of birds, one of the engines failed - while the other continued to produce a bit of power.
Investigators revealed: "A pilot may have mistakenly turned off the engine.
While an official told South Korea's MBN TV news: "The pilot should have turned off the right engine, which was severely damaged by the bird strike, but he turned off the left engine, which was spinning, and the black box and power went out."
The pilots then ignored standard procedure for continuing of landing after a bird strike on approach.
Terrifying moment Boeing passenger plane catches FIRE after take off with flames erupting from the engine
They are said to have climbed back up before performing unorthodox manoeuvres and turning to make a rushed landing in the opposite direction - on the same runway.
As the heartbroken families of victims entered the media briefing, officials were quick to take copies of the report back from reporters, explaining how it hadn't been officially issued.
A man was heard shouting: "They've just blamed it all on the pilots."
Head of the relatives' group Kim Yu-jin slammed the report as being unsatisfactory.
She said: "When investigators take a position, it should be accompanied by documents that support their position and convince the bereaved family that their conclusions are inevitable.
"We were only given their conclusions.
"We have repeatedly asked them to be careful about these disclosures because the way that the results of the investigation are communicated can have an impact on the compensation that families receive."
The packed jet - Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 - was carrying 181 people from Bangkok, Thailand.
Firefighters said two of the six crew members, one man and one woman, survived after being pulled from the tail of the plane.
The 33-year-old man suffered multiple fractures and is receiving special care following the disaster.
He reportedly told doctors that he had already been rescued when he woke up, Yonhap said.
Timeline of the Muan plane disaster
By James Halpin, foreign news reporter
SOUTH Korea has suffered its deadliest air disaster in two decades as a jet carrying 181 went down with only two survivors.
4.29am - Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 leaves Bangkok carrying tourists coming home from package holidays in Thailand.
8.57am - Pilot receives bird strike warning on approach to Muan International Airport.
8.58am - Pilot issues a mayday call - and witnesses report hearing an "explosion" overheard as video shows an apparent bird strike.
9.00am - Plane aborts first landing attempt on Runway 01.
9.03am - The jet then attempts a second landing on Runway 19 on its belly - and crashes in a fireball.
5
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trust your gut and fail bravely: seven influential women on the advice they would give their 30-year-old selves
If you could go back in time and give your younger self some advice, what would it be? (Mine: always hire a professional to do your taxes and just accept you look best with a side part.) It's tempting to imagine what we might have done differently. Unfortunately, wisdom tends to be hard-earned, and often only arises after a series of mistakes – like parting your hair in the middle for five years even though it makes you look like a potato. While personal wisdom takes time and patience to cultivate, we can always listen to what other astute people have learned over the years. For our series The joys of ageing, we asked seven influential women what advice they would give their 30-year-old selves if they could go back in time. I'd tell my 30-year-old self to write morning pages: three pages of longhand, morning writing, done daily. The pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. They guard – and guide – the writer. I would have told my 30-year-old self that all the things I sought from the world – respect, safety, love, esteem – were not out there, and that experiencing those was going to be an inside job. I wasn't going to be able to achieve, own, lease, marry well enough to feel fulfilled for any length of time. That I could stop dancing as fast as I could trying to fill up on all the prizes and rewards and glitter that the world had to offer – because it was outside of me, it was not of lasting value. I would have told myself to do everything I could do to make myself stronger, keep fit and be the best of what I could be. And we're not all going to be the same. Don't even think that you're going to look like or do the same things as everyone else. Just do what you can do. Sign up to Well Actually Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life after newsletter promotion I would tell my 30-year-old self to trust my gut. Don't overthink. If only we could go back and lend wisdom to our younger selves. But life doesn't work that way. We earn our wisdom, year by year. Yes, I wish I had the overwhelming gratitude for our blue jewel of a planet at age 30, as I do now, at age 75. I wish I had been more forgiving of myself and my blunders. I wish I had been more tolerant of others' blunders. We, all of us, are on an arc of personal evolution. Wisdom can't be rushed. The only goal we can strive for is to eventually arrive at becoming the person we can admire. The understanding that would have been most helpful would have been something like: 'When a door closes, another one can open.' No, I won't go to journalism school after all – a long-held, quiet aspiration – but I've learned a lot contemplating the role of truth-telling, wise detachment and compassionate witnessing. I won't still traipse around Asia as I began doing when I was 18, but I can have a vibrant sense of adventure, a strong love of learning and an ability to not excessively rely on creature comforts. I may not have so many firsts – like I've already had with my first book, my first recording, my first public talk to crowds of people. But you know what – I just might. What's ahead will take courage, but you are ready. Do not shrink to belong. Stand boldly, fail bravely, grow fully and move forward with peace of mind and heart. Start every day with kindness. That's your superpower.
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
Residents evacuated as fire shuts city centre road in Wolverhampton
Residents were evacuated from a building and a major city centre route through Wolverhampton was closed due to an early-morning fire engines were sent to Princes Square, just off Broad Street, at about 04:40 BST after the blaze, believed to have been started by rubbish, spread to a ground-floor outbuilding, closing nearby Broad Street for several buildings were affected by smoke, including a shop with accommodation above on the first and second floor, which was evacuated, West Midlands Fire Service said. There were no reports of any injuries, and crews left the scene at about 11:30, with Broad Street reopening at about midday. Fire crews from Walsall, Bilston and Wolverhampton were sent to the scene and checked buildings to ensure no one was trapped, the fire service said. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Thorganby crash plane was performing aerobatics
A light aircraft that crashed in rural North Yorkshire last summer, killing two men, was performing aerobatic manoeuvres, investigators Cessna FRA150L two-seater plane crashed in a field near Thorganby, between York and Selby, on the morning of 28 July Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed the pilot and a passenger died after the plane made a steep descent and struck the a statement released on the anniversary of the crash, it said: "The investigation is ongoing, and the final report will be published in due course." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
