THE pilots of the doomed South Korean plane appeared to switch off the wrong engine after flying into birds before crashing.
The tragic incident at Muan International Airport on December 29 resulted in the loss of 179 lives. The plane performed an emergency landing, during which it collided with a concrete barrier at the runway’s end and subsequently burst into flames.
In the aftermath, officials withdrew preliminary findings from the press after relatives of the crash victims interrupted a scheduled news conference on Saturday in their grief.
They accused them of prematurely blaming the pilots for the devastating crash.
Before this media briefing, investigators had informed the bereaved families and their representatives that their investigation had determined the aircraft did not suffer from any engine malfunctions.
They added that various errors by the pilots had led them to land the aircraft too quickly, without the wheels being down.
Preliminary findings confirmed the conclusions that aviation experts had reached from the plane’s final path, as well as horror video footage captured from the fatal crash.
In the final four minutes of the doomed flight, power to the aircraft’s flight recorders was cut off – initially obstructing the investigation.
After going into the flock of birds, one of the engines failed – while the other continued to produce a bit of power.
Investigators revealed: “A pilot may have mistakenly turned off the engine.
While an official told South Korea’s MBN TV news: “The pilot should have turned off the right engine, which was severely damaged by the bird strike, but he turned off the left engine, which was spinning, and the black box and power went out.”
The pilots then ignored standard procedure for continuing of landing after a bird strike on approach.
They are said to have climbed back up before performing unorthodox manoeuvres and turning to make a rushed landing in the opposite direction – on the same runway.
As the heartbroken families of victims entered the media briefing, officials were quick to take copies of the report back from reporters, explaining how it hadn’t been officially issued.
A man was heard shouting: “They’ve just blamed it all on the pilots.”
Head of the relatives’ group Kim Yu-jin slammed the report as being unsatisfactory.
She said: “When investigators take a position, it should be accompanied by documents that support their position and convince the bereaved family that their conclusions are inevitable.
“We were only given their conclusions.
“We have repeatedly asked them to be careful about these disclosures because the way that the results of the investigation are communicated can have an impact on the compensation that families receive.”
The packed jet – Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 – was carrying 181 people from Bangkok, Thailand.
Firefighters said two of the six crew members, one man and one woman, survived after being pulled from the tail of the plane.
The 33-year-old man suffered multiple fractures and is receiving special care following the disaster.
He reportedly told doctors that he had already been rescued when he woke up, Yonhap said.
Timeline of the Muan plane disaster
By James Halpin, foreign news reporter
SOUTH Korea has suffered its deadliest air disaster in two decades as a jet carrying 181 went down with only two survivors.
4.29am – Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 leaves Bangkok carrying tourists coming home from package holidays in Thailand.
8.57am – Pilot receives bird strike warning on approach to Muan International Airport.
8.58am – Pilot issues a mayday call – and witnesses report hearing an “explosion” overheard as video shows an apparent bird strike.
9.00am – Plane aborts first landing attempt on Runway 01.
9.03am – The jet then attempts a second landing on Runway 19 on its belly – and crashes in a fireball.
