Jeju Air Boeing 737 crashes into flock of birds, causing fatal accident

The Korean Air and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) has released a preliminary report on the accident. Jeju Air
An accident in December claimed the lives of 179 people on board the company's Boeing 737-800. This confirmed that both recorders had stopped minutes before the plane crash, and that bird feathers and blood stains were found on both engines.

deadly go-around

In a brief overview of the flight history, ARAIB detailed: Jeju Air flight 7C2216
operated by a Boeing 737-800 registered as HL8088, took off from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Muan International Airport (MWX) on December 29, 2024 at approximately 4:30 local time (UTC +7). I did.

There were 181 people on board the aircraft, divided into six crew members and 175 passengers. At 8:54:43 local time (UTC +9), the pilot of the 737-800 contacted local air traffic control (ATC) and cleared the Jeju Air aircraft to land on Runway 01. Muan Airport has one runway, Runway 01/19.

However, at 8:57:50, air traffic controllers warned the Jeju Air pilots to be careful during the approach due to bird activity in the area. Just one minute after the warning, both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) stopped recording, ARAIB said, without providing details on why they stopped.

At 08:58:50, both pilots issued a mayday distress signal to inform air traffic controllers of a bird strike during the go-around. The 737-800 was flying over the left side of Runway 01 and attempted to turn right and land on Runway 19.

“The plane made a belly landing without the landing gear deployed, overran the runway, crashed into an embankment, including the localizer, and burst into flames.''

jump into a flock of birds

Alive noted that the pilot spotted a flock of birds while approaching Runway 01 of Muan International Airport. Jeju Air was seen in the security camera footage. 737-800
Investigators said they approached a flock of birds during the go-around.

“Both engines were examined and feathers and bird bloodstains were found on each. The samples were sent to a specialized institute for DNA analysis, and the national agency identified them as belonging to a Baikal teal.”

According to Birds Korea, the Baikal teal is a type of bird that migrates to Korea in the winter. They arrive in droves in October and migrate south as temperatures cool. This duck is not closely related to other types of ducks.

However, this is a preliminary report and ARAIB said it will continue investigating the accident. This included a complete disassembly of the engine, examination of components, analysis of CVR and FDR data, and examination of embankments, localizers, and evidence of bird strikes.

“These full investigative operations are aimed at determining the exact cause of the accident. In addition, any issues deemed necessary for safety or other improvements will be considered and any urgent safety concerns will be addressed. We hope this will lead to recommendations.”

ARAIB concluded that the National Transportation Safety Board: (NTSB)
and the French Civil Aviation Safety Research and Analysis Bureau (Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile, BEA) are supporting the investigation.

The Boeing 737 involved was manufactured in 2009

Investigators also noted that the 737-800 involved in the incident was manufactured in 2009. boeing
The aircraft was delivered to ryanair
Jeju Air began operating the 737-800 in question in February 2017. In 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Regulations regarding CVR and digital FDR (DFDR) recorders have been amended, impacting airlines, carriers and aircraft manufacturers.

This rule increases the duration of certain CVR recordings, increases the data recording rate for certain DFDR parameters, mandates physical separation of the two recorders, and improves the reliability of power to both the CVR and DFDR. has improved. It also required recording of certain data link communications received by the aircraft, if support equipment is installed.

The FAA detailed that the NTSB had experienced difficulties in investigating aircraft accidents and incidents for “many years” due to insufficient recorder data. The problem was due to the limited period of CVR recording prior to the incident and “loss of power to both the CVR and DFDR.”

Recorder issue has caused a safety recommendation

Regulators say problems occurred in at least eight accidents between 1995 and 2000, resulting in five safety recommendations from the NTSB.

“By January 1, 2005, all aircraft required to be equipped with a CVR and FDR (…) shall be equipped with a 10-minute independent power source installed in the CVR and automatically activated for a 10-minute to operate for several minutes even if power to the recorder is interrupted due to a normal shutdown or loss of power to the bus.”

In response to these recommendations in March 2008, one of the FAA's proposals was for each recorder to receive power from the bus, which would provide maximum reliability for the operation of each recorder without jeopardizing the functionality of others. It was to be mandatory.

“Each recorder must also continue to provide power for as long as possible without jeopardizing the aircraft's emergency operations. These requirements apply to newly manufactured aircraft.”

In response to stakeholder comments regarding recorder independent power supplies (RIPS) for CVRs, the FAA stated that it cannot “mandate retrofits as a cost-effective change.” Additionally, the NTSB and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) recommended expanding the “absence of a single electrical failure” requirement to include modifications to already delivered aircraft.

“The FAA considered this option during the development of the NPRM and noted that rewiring would be a significant economic burden and would require rewiring not only the recorder system, but also other aircraft systems affected by the changes made to the NPRM. We discovered that extensive rework of the aircraft may be required.

Finally, the effective date for this rule was set two years from April 7, 2008. The FAA has added new rules applicable to aircraft manufacturers that impact CVR and FDR requirements, including single electrical fault requirements.

Additionally, Boeing has proposed to the FAA that recorder rule changes be applied to all aircraft operating in the United States, and manufacturers are required to submit any accidents or incidents involving non-U.S.-registered aircraft to FAA and NTSB investigations. It added that it was targeted. .

“Like all countries, the FAA has limited authority to require the installation of certain equipment on aircraft that are not listed on our national registry and simply fly in our airspace. (…) Our analysis shows that the scope of the final rule is sufficient to achieve the safety goal of more reliable flight information at an acceptable cost.”

The full text of the final rule regarding CVR and FDR changes can be found here.