A plane crashed upon landing at Muan Airport in South Korea on Sunday, December 29. The accident which caused more than a hundred deaths is believed to be linked to a collision with birds.
An investigation has been opened in South Korea to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy. A Jeju Air plane coming from Bangkok (Thailand) crashed on landing this Sunday, December 29. Of the 181 passengers it was carrying, at least 151 died, two were saved.
The accident occurred following a collision with birds combined with unfavorable weather conditions, according to initial reports from the Muan firefighters.
According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the airport control tower issued an alert about the possibility of a bird strike at 8:57 a.m. (local time) on Sunday. A minute later, the plane sent a distress signal and attempted a first landing before crashing at 9:03 a.m.
“Birds can get into the engine”
The so-called “bird risk” is nothing new for airlines and flight attendants. As Jean Serrat, Aeronautics consultant for BFMTV, explains, birds represent a “huge danger for planes”.
“There are schools with hundreds of birds that can fly away in one go, next to each other. If you go over 200 kilometers per hour and hit them, these birds can fly back. in the engine, it can cause it to explode (…) or break cable or hydraulic systems.”
To protect themselves as best as possible, airports have the obligation “to assess the animal risk on and around the aerodrome, to put in place means and develop procedures to control and reduce the risk and to notify to the competent authority any animal impact”, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the risk being highest at the time of takeoff or landing, when birds are placed on the runway.
Tools to keep birds away from tracks
Acoustic tools can help airport services in this regard. In each airport, “patrols are there with vehicles that emit noises in order to scare birds and move them away from all areas where there are plane movements” to avoid any risk of collision , explains this Sunday the Aeronautics consultant of BFMTV, Jean Serrat.
Staff can also use short- and long-range rocket shots to again scare the birds.
“In all airports, there is what you need to scare birds,” assures Jean Serrat.
However, there is always a risk of collision with birds when the aircraft is at altitude, far from the perimeter covered by airport services.
To limit this threat, aircraft manufacturers also have a role to play and in the majority of cases design cabins capable of withstanding impact with a bird and engines that can shut down quickly in the event that a bird gets there. would introduce in mid-flight.
While the Jeju Air plane issued a distress message explaining that it had struck birds a few minutes before landing and exploding, the investigation is continuing to clarify what role this collision played in the tragedy.
