The South Korean plane sent an emergency call two minutes before the failed landing

Jeju Air flight number 2216 was headed from Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan, Korea, with 175 people on board and six crew members. The plane was supposed to make an approach to runway number 1 when the airport control tower warned the crew about a flock of birds in the area. She should have indicated that a collision is possible. Approximately one minute later, the plane sent a distress call towards the tower.

The control tower should have advised the plane to land in the opposite direction on runway number 19. The pilot obeyed the instructions and attempted to land on the said runway. According to the available videos, it is evident that the landing gear of the plane did not extend. For this reason, there is also speculation about the technical problems of this Boeing 737, and we can expect an early statement from its manufacturer.

“At this moment, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident and we have to wait for the official statement of the investigators of the government office,” said the director of the airline at a meeting with the press, stating that regardless of the cause of the accident, he accepts full personal responsibility. He added that the plane had a problem-free past until the accident. Subsequently, he expressed his deepest condolences to the surviving victims and, together with the management of the company, took a long apologetic bow, as is customary in the country during similar events.

After the landing gear did not extend, the aircraft could not brake the landing. He swept away the navigation equipment on the runway and subsequently hit the wall behind the runway. It exploded in a second.

Meanwhile, the police reported that they managed to save one black box from the plane. However, they do not yet have in their possession the one that should contain the audio recording from the plane.

The Jeju Air plane accident comes just a few days after the tragic accident of an Azerbaijani plane in Kazakhstan near the city of Aktau. Even there, shortly after the accident, there was talk of the possibility that the accident was caused by a flock of birds that flew into the engine.

According to the Azerbaijani government, the plane was destroyed by a Russian missile fired from the Pancir S anti-aircraft system, the pilots are being praised for the partially successful landing attempt. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the Azerbaijani plane crashed in Russian airspace.