South Korea’s authorities have submitted a preliminary report to the UN aviation agency and foreign authorities, including the United States, France, and Thailand, on the Jeju Air plane crash that occurred last month.
The report states that the investigation into the crash, which killed 175 people, remains ongoing and is focused on the role of “bird strike” and the analysis of the engines and localizer landing guidance structure.
The crash occurred when a Boeing 737-800 jet overshot the runway and crashed into the localizer structure during an emergency belly landing at Muan International Airport.
The preliminary report highlights several findings, including that the pilots reported spotting a flock of birds during their final approach and that both engines showed signs of damage from a bird strike. The report also mentions that a partial explosion occurred after the crash, which buried both engines in soil and scattered the front fuselage over a 30-200 meter area.
The report does not provide an explanation for why the two data recorders stopped recording simultaneously, which occurred when the aircraft was at an altitude of 498 ft and flying at 161 knots. The exact time of the bird strike is also unknown.