South Korean investigators found feathers in both engines of the Boeing Co. 737-800 jet involved in a crash late last month, pointing to possible evidence that the aircraft may have lost electrical power before an ill-fated emergency landing that killed almost everyone on board.
The authorities, who are investigating the fatal accident of the Jeju Air plane that killed 179 of 181 on board at Muan International Airport, made the discovery after inspecting the wreckage, according to a person familiar with the probe, who asked not to be identified as the information hasn’t yet been made public.
The finding was first reported by South Korean broadcaster MBN on Friday. The Korean transport ministry, which is leading the joint investigation with officials from US National Transportation Safety Board, declined to comment.
The ministry suspects that both engines shut down shortly before the pilot attempted an emergency landing, depriving the aircraft of almost all electrical power as it touched down. The plane’s two black boxes, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, both missed the final minutes before the jet exploded following its failed landing, reinforcing the suspicion of a loss of electrical power.
The plane, a predecessor to the Boeing 737 Max, made an emergency landing without its landing gear or flaps deployed, skidding on its belly off the runway and exploding after hitting a concrete structure sitting just beyond the perimeter of landing strip. The accident came a few minutes after the airport control tower had warned the pilot of the risk of bird strikes.
The plane’s engine maker, a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Safran SA, previously found a feather in one of the two engines. Authorities have yet to disclose the transcripts of the two recorders and the conversation between the airport control tower and the pilot as well as the surveillance camera’s data at the airport, as they are still matching the timelines of all pieces of evidence.
Photograph: The tail of Jeju Air plane at the site of a plane fire at Muan International Airport, South Korea, on Dec. 29, 2024; Photo credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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