An investigation uncovered that the pilots of the Jeju Air Boeing 737, South Korea’s deadliest plane crash that killed 179 people on board in December, may have turned off the wrong engine, according to PEOPLE.
Videos by Suggest
South Korea’s Deadliest Plane Crash May Be Due To Pilots Shutting Off Wrong Engine
Only two people survived the plane crash on December 29, 2024, per CNN. The aircraft was flying into Muan International Airport from Bangkok when tragedy struck. The plane caught fire while landing in Muan County, South Korea, around 9:03 AM local time.
Upon attempting a landing, the plane skidded toward a concrete wall on its belly. Flames then erupted from the plane, and they only managed to rescue one male and one female crew member. Emergency services revealed they rescued them from the plane’s tail section, the only area left unscathed.
On Monday, January 27, a preliminary report showed that they found bird feathers and blood stains in both engines. But now, a new report shows evidence of the pilots turning off the left engine instead of the right.
According to The New York Times, the pilots shut off the less-damaged engine after the bird strikes. This left only one more damaged engine, which caught fire. According to someone familiar with the investigation, the “shutdown likely led to a loss of electrical power and the removal of the aircraft’s main source of thrust, hampering the pilots’ ability to land.”
This was the deadliest recorded plane crash in South Korea since 1997. The aircraft attempted to land with limited power and without its landing gears. It’s also tough to figure out how the pilots misidentified the two engines.
Joe Jacobsen, an aviation expert, spoke with the outlet to explain the situation. “If the pilots lost their displays after the bird strike, they may have had no clear indication of which engine was damaged,” said Jacobsen. He also mentioned how important it was to have “detailed cockpit data” before making conclusions.
Since the plane’s flight recorders stopped working five seconds after the left engine turned off, we don’t know the full truth. It would’ve required electrical power to operate, which was why we have gaps in our information.
Officials also mentioned that the right engine was experiencing damage. This surge caused black smoke and flames to erupt, but it still had power before the plane landed.