Investigators say they have found evidence of a bird strike on a passenger plane that crashed in South Korea in December, killing 179 people.
The feathers and blood stains on both engines of the Jeju Air plane were from the Baikal teal, a type of migratory duck that flies in large flocks, according to a preliminary investigation report published on Monday.
The inquiry into the crash – the deadliest on South Korean soil – will now focus on the role of the bird strike and a concrete structure at the end of the runway, which the plane crashed into.
The engines of the Boeing 737-800 will be torn down and the concrete structure will be examined further, the report said.
The Jeju Air plane took off from Bangkok in the morning of 29 December and was flying to Muan International Airport in the country’s south-west.
At about 08:57 local time, three minutes after pilots made contact with the airport, the control tower advised the crew to be cautious of “bird activity”.
At 08:59, the pilot reported that the plane had struck a bird and declared a mayday signal.
The pilot then requested permission to land from the opposite direction, during which it belly-landed without its landing gear deployed. It overran the runway and exploded after slamming into the concrete structure, the report said.
Authorities earlier said that flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the plane stopped recording about four minutes before the disaster.
Experts who had flown the same type of aircraft involved in the crash have also questioned the presence of the concrete barriers at the end of the runway – with some suggesting that the casualty toll would have been lower if they had not been there.
The concrete structure holds a navigation system that assists aircraft landings, known as a localiser.
South Korea’s transport ministry had said this system could also be found in other airports in the country and even overseas.
Last week, authorities announced that they will change the concrete barriers used for navigation at seven airports across the country. Seven airports will also have their runway safety areas adapted following a review.
The preliminary report has been submitted to the United Nations’ aviation agency and to the authorities of the United States, France and Thailand.
