An investigation report found that the Jeju Air plane had one working engine when it crashed in the tragedy that killed 179 people late last year.
A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people hit a bird while attempting to land at Muan Airport in South Jeolla Province on December 29, 2024. The plane aborted the landing and accelerated but was unable to gain altitude. The plane attempted a belly landing but was unable to decelerate, veered off the runway and crashed into a concrete wall at the end, breaking into pieces and bursting into flames, killing 179 people.
South Korean investigators have not yet released a final report on the disaster, but more information about the condition of the plane’s two engines is beginning to emerge.
According to an update from investigators on July 19 seen by Reuters , both engines were damaged by the bird strike. The left engine was less damaged than the right, but it shut down 19 seconds after the impact.
The right engine experienced a “turbocharger failure,” emitting flames and black smoke. However, investigators said it “still produced enough thrust to fly,” according to the five-page update.
The investigation is expected to last for months as experts try to reconstruct the plane’s technical condition and what the crew was aware of at the time of the crash. Experts note that most air accidents are caused by a combination of factors and conclusions should not be drawn based on incomplete evidence.
The scene of the Jeju Air plane crash at Muan Airport, South Korea, December 2024. Photo: Reuters
Public opinion is now focused on the possibility that the pilot mistakenly shut down the less damaged engine. Chosun reported that the Korea Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) raised this theory with the victims’ families last weekend, saying that the pilot should have shut down the right engine but may have mistakenly flipped the switch to shut down the left engine.
However, the new information adds to the confusion, as it raises the possibility that the right engine, despite its severe damage, could have kept the plane flying longer.
The document does not say how much power the engines still have or what the state of the systems connected to the two engines is. Greg Feith, a former investigator with the US National Transportation Safety Board, said the document contains some new information but leaves out more, making the problem “more mysterious.”
The victim’s family has criticized the pilot-engine-mistake theory, saying it places blame on the pilot without considering other factors, such as the concrete wall at the end of the runway.
By global standards, civil aviation accident investigations aim to discover the cause of the accident without assigning blame or liability.
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