South Korea plane crash: Bird feathers found in aircraft engines

Tengrinews.kz - Investigators probing the cause of a plane crash in South Korea have discovered bird feathers and traces of blood in the engines of the Boeing 737-800, according to Scmp.com.

A source familiar with the investigation revealed this information, stating that feathers were found on one of the engines recovered from the crash site. Video footage confirmed that the bird strike impacted one of the engines. However, South Korea’s Ministry of Transport declined to comment on the presence of feathers and blood.

"Two minutes before the pilot declared the mayday emergency call, air traffic control had urged caution due to 'bird activity' in the area," the publication stated.

Collisions affecting both engines are extremely rare in aviation. However, there have been instances of successful emergency landings in similar situations, such as the "Miracle on the Hudson" in the U.S. in 2009 and a cornfield landing in Russia in 2019.

Investigators also noted that the aircraft’s black boxes do not contain recordings of the final minutes of the flight. The data stopped approximately four minutes before the aircraft struck a concrete barrier. South Korean authorities admitted that this would complicate the crash analysis but emphasized that flight recorders are not the only sources of information available.

The crash occurred on December 29 when a flight from Bangkok to Muan failed to land. The landing gear system malfunctioned, causing the aircraft to hit a concrete barrier and explode. Of the 181 people on board, 179 perished, while two crew members survived.

This disaster is the deadliest plane crash in South Korea since 1983, when a Korean Airlines jet was shot down near Sakhalin, killing 269 people. Within South Korea itself, it is the worst aviation accident in the country's history.