Bird Strike, Belly Landing, No Circling; Mystery Looms On South Korea Plane Crash (X image @MahuaMoitraFans)

Seoul, South Korea: A Jeju Air flight carrying 181 people crashed at South Korea’s Muan airport on Sunday, killing at least 85. The figure is feared to escalate. The aircraft, flying from Bangkok in Thailand to Muan, had 181 onboard. National Fire Agency said they have rescued two people and all others are feared dead, reported South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. Among the 181 people, there were 175 passengers including two Thai nationals, as well as six crew members.

Reportedly, the plane tried for a belly landing. From video footages of the incident, moments before the crash show the plane dragging on its underbody before crashing into a wall and burst into flames.

Belly landing are opted during the malfunction of landing gear. Quoting airport authorities, the news agency reported that the pilot tried a crash landing after a regular landing attempt failed. This could have been the result of a bird strike. “Witnesses cited signs that the plane’s landing gear, such as tires, remained inactivated, possibly sending it to attempt a crash landing, with a bird collision presumed to be the cause of the malfunction”, as per the report.

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The reports sparked netizens’ curiosity. Social media users, including former pilots, asked about the plane’s high speed when landing on a runway less than 3 km long. Some others asked why firefighters are not in position near the runway if it was a planned belly landing.

Adding to the mystery of the crash, the plane apparently did not circle before attempting a belly landing, as showed by the aircraft trajectory. If planes are hit by a technical malfunction, pilots usually circle them above the airport before they try to figure out a solution. That was not seen in this case.

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Speaking to media, Lee Jeong-hyun, said that bad weather contributed to the tragedy. “The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation,” he said.

Jeju Air apologised for the crash and said it would do all it could to help. “We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on social media.