South Korean investigators have reportedly attributed the deadly Jeju Air crash to pilot error, according to a yet-to-be-released interim report.
The 29 December disaster killed 179 of the 181 people on board during an attempted emergency landing in Muan.
A source close to the South Korea-led investigation into the Jeju Air crash told Reuters that there is “clear evidence” the pilots mistakenly shut down the wrong engine after a bird strike.
Data from the cockpit voice recorder, flight computer, and a physical engine switch found in the wreckage indicate the less-damaged left engine was shut off instead of the right, shortly before the fatal landing attempt, the source said.
“The investigation team has clear evidence and backup data, so its finding will not change,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because investigators have not released an official report including this evidence.
However, tensions flared on Saturday after officials privately briefed victims’ families on the preliminary findings. A lawyer representing the families said the report found no mechanical fault with the Boeing 737-800’s engines, and instead appeared to prematurely blame the pilots and a bird strike that occurred shortly before the crash.
South Korean officials then abruptly cancelled a planned press briefing on the Jeju Air crash investigation after the victims’ families disrupted the event, calling the interim report inadequate.
The officials had intended to publicly share preliminary findings about the Boeing 737-800’s engine analysis from the 29 December crash, which killed 179 of 181 on board.
The Times also reported that investigators said the pilots mistakenly shut down the wrong engine after the bird strike and landed the plane too fast with the landing gear retracted.
Following the collision with a flock of birds, thought to be Baikal teal ducks, one engine failed while the other maintained partial thrust. Investigators noted the possibility that “a pilot may have mistakenly turned off the engine”, the outlet said.
An official reportedly told South Korea’s MBN TV: “The pilot should have turned off the right engine, which was severely damaged by the bird strike, but he turned off the left engine, which was spinning, and the black box and power went out.”
On 29 December last year, Jeju Air Flight 2216 landed on its belly after reporting a bird strike and declaring an emergency. It overshot the runway, collided with a concrete berm containing navigation equipment, and erupted into a deadly fireball.
Only two flight attendants at the rear of the aircraft survived.
Earlier, aviation experts had questioned whether a bird strike alone could have caused the failure of the aircraft’s landing gear.
According to the interim findings, the pilots also reportedly deviated from standard protocol following the bird strike during approach. Instead of continuing the landing, they reportedly climbed, executed a series of irregular manoeuvres, and attempted a hurried landing in the opposite direction on the same runway, GB News reported.
Later on Saturday, at the planned press briefing on the interim findings, officials took back copies of the findings from reporters after relatives of the victims disrupted the event, accusing them of prematurely blaming the pilots for South Korea’s worst airline disaster.
“The families did not get an adequate explanation,” Pillkyu Hwang, the lawyer, speaking at a lectern in the Muan International Airport where the investigators of the crash had been expected to give their report said.
“In fact, depending on how you look at it, it kind of puts all the blame on the dead birds and the dead pilots,” he said, without specifying what details officials gave about the pilots’ actions, according to The New York Times.
“Of course, that may be the outcome of the investigation. But that requires tremendous rigour and very careful wording. And something came out that wasn’t careful at all,” Mr Hwang said.
The relatives of the crash victims criticised the report’s presentation, arguing it gave a false impression of finality despite the investigation still being underway. They reportedly expressed concern that the media might misinterpret the findings as conclusive, potentially shaping public perception prematurely.
“This briefing is not happening. Everyone get out!” one relative of a crash victim yelled. “They’ve just blamed it all on the pilots!” a man cried out.
Transport ministry spokesperson, Kim Byung-chae, said the report was not officially public until the briefing began. However, after families stormed in, voicing strong objections, the news conference was called off, and officials retracted the report copies, stating it had not been formally released.
Kim Yu-jin, president of the relatives’ delegation, said the families didn’t contest the report’s findings but were dissatisfied with how the information was presented.
“When the investigators take a position, it should be accompanied by a number of documents that support their position and convince the bereaved family that their conclusions are inevitable,” she told reporters.
“But we were only given their conclusions and told they couldn’t disclose the process or evidence that led them to those findings.”
