Pilot error linked to Jeju Air disaster
The source said the evidence, including the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a physical engine switch found in the wreckage showed pilots shut off the left engine instead of the right engine when taking emergency steps after a bird strike just before it was scheduled to land.
'The investigation team has clear evidence and backup data, so its finding will not change,' the source said on condition of anonymity because investigators have not released an official report including this evidence.
A government source said examinations of the plane's recovered engines found that no defects had been present before the bird strike and crash.
The Dec 29 crash of the Boeing 737-800 jet at Muan Airport killed all but two of the 181 passengers and crew members on board and was the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
Investigators told victims' family members at a briefing that the right engine had been more severely damaged by a bird strike than the left, and there was circumstantial evidence that pilots had turned off the less-damaged left engine, according to a third source.
Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, and under international rules, a final report is expected within a year of an accident.
A preliminary report released in January said duck remains were found in both engines of the Jeju Air plane after the flight from Bangkok crashed at Muan Airport, but did not give details about the extent of remains or damage found in each engine. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
16 hours ago
- The Star
Death toll in Bangladesh fighter jet crash rises to 27
Women react at the site of a crash, after an air force training aircraft crashed into a building belong to Milestone School and College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22, 2025. - Reuters DHAKA: At least 27 people, mostly children, were killed after a Bangladeshi fighter jet crashed into a school in the capital Dhaka, a government official said Tuesday (July 22), updating an earlier toll of at least 20 dead. Most of the victims were schoolchildren who had just been let out of class when the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College on Monday. The crash, which is the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades, also left more than 170 people injured. "So far, 27 people have died. Among them, 25 are children and one is a pilot," Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said. "Seventy-eight people are being treated in different hospitals," Rahman added. The Bangladesh military on Monday had said the pilot, flight lieutenant Towkir Islam, was on a routine training mission when the jet "reportedly encountered a mechanical failure". "The exact cause remains under investigation," it said in a statement. The pilot tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas but, "despite his best efforts", crashed into the two-storey school building, the military added. The interim government of Muhammad Yunus declared that Tuesday would be a day of national mourning. Yunus expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the incident in a post on X. "The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable," he said. "This is a moment of profound pain for the nation." - AFP
The Star
21 hours ago
- The Star
Air India jet skids during landing in Mumbai, damaging aircraft and runway
FILE PHOTO: An Air India aircraft prepares to land at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on January 27, 2022. - AFP NEW DELHI: An Air India Airbus A320 flight veered off the runway as it landed during heavy rain at the Mumbai International Airport on Monday (July 21), briefly shutting the runway and damaging the underside of one of the plane's engines. All passengers and crew members have since disembarked, Air India said, without saying whether anyone was injured. Air India flight AI2744 had flown from Kochi in southern Kerala state to Mumbai. The Mumbai airport said in a statement there were "minor damages reported to the airport's primary runway" due to what it described as a "runway excursion", and a secondary runway had been activated to ensure operational continuity. The aircraft has been grounded for checks, Air India added. A Times of India report, citing sources, said three tyres had burst on the aircraft after the landing. TV footage from NDTV and India Today showed the outer casing of the engine damaged, with some apparent cracks. Air India has come under intense scrutiny after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad last month, killing 260 people. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said earlier this month it plans to investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after Reuters reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records to show compliance. - Reuters
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Pilot error linked to Jeju Air disaster
The South Korea-led investigation into Jeju Air's fatal plane crash in December has 'clear evidence' that pilots shut off the less-damaged engine after a bird strike, a source with knowledge of the probe said. The source said the evidence, including the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a physical engine switch found in the wreckage showed pilots shut off the left engine instead of the right engine when taking emergency steps after a bird strike just before it was scheduled to land. 'The investigation team has clear evidence and backup data, so its finding will not change,' the source said on condition of anonymity because investigators have not released an official report including this evidence. A government source said examinations of the plane's recovered engines found that no defects had been present before the bird strike and crash. The Dec 29 crash of the Boeing 737-800 jet at Muan Airport killed all but two of the 181 passengers and crew members on board and was the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil. Investigators told victims' family members at a briefing that the right engine had been more severely damaged by a bird strike than the left, and there was circumstantial evidence that pilots had turned off the less-damaged left engine, according to a third source. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, and under international rules, a final report is expected within a year of an accident. A preliminary report released in January said duck remains were found in both engines of the Jeju Air plane after the flight from Bangkok crashed at Muan Airport, but did not give details about the extent of remains or damage found in each engine. — Reuters
