STORY: ::File
South Korean investigators have suggested that the Jeju Air plane involved in December’s deadly crash could have continued flying for longer, despite damage to its engines due to a bird strike.
:: Lee Geun-young
That’s according to their latest progress report seen by Reuters.
Instead, the Boeing jet belly-landed at Muan airport on December 29 and slammed into an embankment.
All but two of the 181 people on board were killed.
The July 19 update was not publicly released after the victims’ families complained, saying parts of it were misleading and appeared to blame the pilots without exploring other factors.
The five-page report is not yet final, but contains details about the plane’s two engines.
:: Lee Geun-young
According to the update, the left engine was less damaged than the right after the bird strike.
But it was shut down 19 seconds after it was hit.
The remaining, right engine was more badly damaged.
Still – the update said – it was “confirmed to be generating output sufficient for flight”.
A source had told Reuters on Monday, the probe found the pilots had shut off the less-damaged engine after the bird strike.
But the newly emerged details raise the possibility that the remaining engine, despite the damage, could have kept the plane aloft for longer.
However – the update did not say what level of performance it still had.
Or what options that might have given to the plane’s crew, before the jet landed in the opposite direction of the runway from its initial plan without its landing gear down.
The probe is expected to last months, as investigators reconstruct the plane’s technical state and the picture understood by its pilots.
Experts say most air accidents are caused by multiple factors and caution against putting too much weight on incomplete evidence.
The investigation board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
