Jeju Air 737 Crash: Pilots Shut Down Wrong Engine After Bird Strike

A new report reveals that the pilots of the Jeju Air Boeing 737 that crashed in South Korea on December 29, 2024, killing 179 people, mistakenly shut down the wrong engine following a bird strike.

According to the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) released on July 20, the aircraft’s right engine was severely damaged after colliding with a flock of ducks during its descent into Muan International Airport. Despite the left engine remaining functional, the pilots mistakenly shut it down, leaving the aircraft with no operational engines.

ARAIB presented its initial findings on Saturday July 19 but later retracted the documents, stating the report had not been formally finalized.

Cockpit voice recordings captured one of the pilots instructing to “shut down engine number two” (typically the right engine), but flight data indicates they shut down engine number one instead. Investigators say stress and confusion during the emergency may have led to the fatal error.

Further compounding the situation, the pilots activated the left engine’s fire extinguisher system, which disabled the possibility of restarting it mid-flight. The aircraft, lacking power, descended rapidly and struck an embankment at the end of the runway. It crashed with its landing gear still retracted and exploded on impact.

All 175 passengers and four of the six crew members were killed, marking South Korea’s worst aviation disaster in decades.

While investigators found no evidence of mechanical failure, some critical flight recorder data was lost in the final four minutes of flight. Families of the victims have expressed concern that the preliminary findings unfairly blame the pilots and may impact compensation discussions.

Kim Yu-jin, the head of the Jeju Air crash relatives’ group, said: “When investigators take a position, it should be accompanied by documents that support their position and convince the bereaved family that their conclusions are inevitable. We were only given their conclusions.


“We have repeatedly asked them to be careful about these disclosures because the way that the results of the investigation are communicated can have an impact on the compensation that families receive.’’

Investigators also noted that the pilots deviated from standard emergency procedures by attempting a rushed turnaround and landing on the same runway, rather than climbing and stabilizing the aircraft first.


Related News: https://airguide.info/?s=Jeju+Air, https://airguide.info/category/air-travel-business/travel-health-security/

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, yahoo.com