Traces of bird strikes were found in the engines of the Jeju Air plane which crashed in South Korea last month, killing all but two of its 181 passengers, according to a preliminary report.
Feathers and bird blood stains were found in both engines of the aircraft which crashed at Muan International Airport on 29 December, the report released by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board said.
“The samples were sent to specialised organisations for DNA analysis, and a domestic organisation identified them as belonging to Baikal teals,” the report said, referring to a migratory duck.
The Boeing 737-800’s two black boxes – the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – stopped recording about four minutes before the crash, the report added, potentially complicating efforts to discover the cause of the accident.
Only two crew members seated near the rear of the plane survived South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster at Muan, about 180 miles south of Seoul.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
The aircraft was returning from Bangkok, Thailand, when it failed to deploy its landing gear, skidding off the runway and crashing into concrete barriers before bursting into flames.
All victims were South Korean except for two Thai nationals.
South Korea to remove concrete antenna barriers at airports after crash that killed 179
South Korea president to appear at hearing as thousands of supporters gather near court
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol finally arrested after attempt to impose martial law
It comes after South Korean authorities announced last week the concrete barriers in which the plane crashed, and which host antennas that guide aircraft during landings, would be removed from airports across the country.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
Experts have previously said the massive berm supporting navigation antennas at the end of the runway likely made the crash more deadly than it might have been otherwise.
Investigators earlier said air traffic controllers warned the pilots about possible bird strikes two minutes before the aircraft issued a distress signal confirming one had occurred, after which the pilots attempted an emergency landing.
Read more from Sky News:
Marks & Spencer recalls two chicken products
CIA believes lab leak most likely caused COVID outbreak
The preliminary report said the pilots also noticed a group of birds while approaching the runway at the Muan Airport and that a security camera filmed the plane coming close to birds during an aborted landing as well.
The transport ministry said the preliminary report has been sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Thailand, the United States and France.
It said the plane was built in the US and its engines in France.
