South Korean officials are conducting an emergency safety investigation into the country’s worst-ever plane crash, which killed 179 people on Sunday. The incident occurred moments before the flight was due to land, and air traffic control issued a bird strike warning shortly beforehand.
A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft in flight, posing a danger to planes because jet engines can lose power if birds are sucked into them. While bird strikes are common, fatal crashes involving bird strikes are rare. According to data from the US Federal Aviation Administration, only 76 people died in such incidents between 1988 and 2023.
In the 1995 Alaska incident, 24 Canadian and American airmen were killed after an aircraft collided with geese, while the “Miracle on the Hudson” incident in 2009, where an Airbus plane ditched onto New York’s Hudson River after colliding with geese, resulted in no fatalities. Aviation experts say that if a bird strike damages both engines, pilots can still fly the plane safely at lower altitudes.
However, some experts question whether a bird strike alone could have caused the South Korean crash. Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, stated that problems with the undercarriage are not unusual and that bird strikes typically do not cause the loss of an airplane by themselves. Australian airline safety expert Geoffrey Dell said a bird strike could impact the plane’s engines, but it would not shut them down immediately.
The investigation will look into whether the bird strike was the primary cause of the crash or if other factors were involved. So far, officials have confirmed that a bird strike and bad weather may have contributed to the incident, but the exact cause is still being investigated.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rj8nrky3do