The deadly crash of a Jeju Air plane in South Korea could be partly explained by a collision of the plane with birds.
This is a major risk during take-off or landing phases.
Engine failures can occur, endangering the crew and passengers.
At least 177 people were killed this Sunday, December 29, in the crash of a Jeju Air plane in South Korea. Coming from Bangkok (Thailand), the aircraft crashed during landing at Muan airport before bursting into flames. “The cause of the accident is presumed to be a collision with birds combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation”said Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Muan Fire Station, during a press briefing.
“A rather appalling conjunction of events”
Guest of LCI, aviation sector specialist Michel Polacco returned to the circumstances of this tragedy and the risk caused by birds in particular. “We are in a maritime zone”he noted, “and in certain weather conditions, there are flights of birds which constitute dangers at airports”. Generally, “we use systems to repel them, but it still has to be done with a delay before the landings.”
In the case of the crash in South Korea, “obviously, there was a collision between the plane and a flock of birds”, declared the specialist on LCI (a video can be found at the top of this article). “According to the first elements, it would have happened while the aircraft was on final approach, at a time when it had not yet extended its landing gear. After the collision with the birds, it probably lost the use of its two engines, preventing it from going around again to be able to consider some emergency solutions.” Consequently, the device had to be placed directly, “which also did not give the airport firefighters time to lay a carbonic foam mat on the runway, which, when a crash occurs with the gear retracted, greatly reduces the damage.”
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In summary, according to Michel Polacco, we witnessed “a rather appalling conjunction of events”which occurred “in a very short time” and who left “extremely few outcomes” to the crew and emergency services. Specialists note that in most cases, collisions with birds take place during takeoff or landing, when the engines are running at full speed. Material damage ranges from a simple deformation of the leading edge of the wing to partial or total destruction of the reactor. One of the most famous cases dates back to January 2009, when the pilot of a US Airways Airbus A320 with 155 occupants managed to calmly land on the Hudson River in New York after such a collision.
If the accident in South Korea illustrates the dangers involved very well, such tragedies are fortunately rare. On the other hand, it is common for birds to cause damage to aircraft when they cross their path. A few years ago, insurers reported that “avian collisions” accounted for $330 million and more than 1,000 claims during the 2013-2018 period. We also learned that if the average cost of a collision with a bird is 327,000 euros, it can rise up to 16 million.
