Seoul, July 28 - On December 29, 2024, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, a Boeing 737-800, crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea, marking the deadliest aviation disaster on South Korean soil. The flight, originating from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, carried 181 passengers and crew, with only two survivors. A recent investigation update from South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB), dated July 19, 2025, reveals critical details about the aircraft’s condition during the incident, particularly regarding the state of its engines following a bird strike. The findings indicate that the plane could have potentially continued flying on its damaged right engine, which was still operational, despite the pilots’ decision to shut down the less-damaged left engine.
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The crash occurred during an emergency landing attempt after the aircraft encountered a bird strike, identified as involving Baikal teals, a migratory duck species. Both engines ingested birds, leading to vibrations and significant damage, particularly to the right engine, which experienced a surge, emitting flames and black smoke. Despite this, investigators determined that the right engine was still generating sufficient thrust for flight. However, the pilots shut down the left engine, which sustained less damage, just 19 seconds after the bird strike. This action likely contributed to a loss of electrical power and thrust, severely limiting the aircraft’s ability to maintain controlled flight. The plane subsequently performed a go-around, attempted a belly landing without deploying its landing gear, and overshot the runway, colliding with a concrete embankment housing navigation equipment. The impact triggered a fireball and partial explosion, killing 179 people.
The investigation, supported by American, French, and South Korean experts, confirmed no pre-existing defects in the CFM56-7B26 engines, manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Safran. The engines were analyzed in France, and findings showed bird remains in both, though the extent of damage to the left engine was not detailed in the update. The report also noted that both flight data and cockpit voice recorders ceased functioning four minutes before the crash, likely due to electrical failure following the bird strike, complicating efforts to reconstruct the pilots’ decision-making process. The absence of this data has left gaps in understanding why the landing gear was not deployed, possibly due to hydraulic system failure, and why the less-damaged engine was shut down.
The ARAIB’s update, which was not publicly released due to objections from victims’ families, has sparked controversy. Families and the Jeju Air pilots’ union argue that the report focuses too heavily on potential pilot error without adequately exploring other factors, such as the concrete embankment’s role in the crash’s severity. Aviation experts note that global standards recommend frangible structures for runway navigation equipment to minimize impact damage, and South Korea’s transport ministry has since committed to replacing concrete barriers at seven airports, including Muan. The investigation, expected to conclude by June 2026, continues to examine the aircraft’s technical state, the bird strike’s impact, and the embankment’s contribution to the high death toll, emphasizing the complexity of air accidents involving multiple factors.