By Bart Meijer
(Reuters) – Uncertainty surrounds South Korea's deadliest plane crash, experts said on Sunday, questioning initial suggestions that a bird strike may have brought down Jeju Air flight 7C2216.
The apparent lack of landing gear, the engine timing of the Boeing (NYSE:) 737-800 belly-landing at Muan International Airport and reports of possible bird strikes all raise unanswered questions.
The monoplane was seen in a video broadcast on local media skimming down the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into a wall in an explosion of fire and debris.
“Why weren't the tenders blowing up the foam on the runway? Why weren't they there when the plane touched down? And why did the plane land so far down the runway? And why was there a brick wall at the end of the runway? The runway? ” said Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas.
South Korean officials said they were investigating the cause of the crash, including a bird strike, which killed nearly all 181 people on board.
The flight data recorder was found at 11:30 am (0230 GMT), about two and a half hours after the crash, and the cockpit voice recorder was found at 2:24 pm, according to South Korea's transport service.
“That gives you all the parameters of all the systems of the aircraft. The heartbeat of the aircraft in the flight data recorder,” said Thomas. “The voice recorder will provide the most interesting analysis of what happened in this terrible accident.”
Within minutes, the control tower issued a bird strike warning, the pilots declared a Mayday and then attempted to land, officials said, although it was unclear whether the plane struck any birds.
Experts say it seems unlikely that a bird strike caused the landing gear to malfunction.
“Bird strikes are not common, problems with the undercarriage are not common. Bird strikes occur frequently, but usually do not cause the loss of the plane themselves,” said Thomas.
Australian aviation safety expert Geoffrey Dell (NYSE: ) said, “I've never seen a bird strike prevent the landing gear from being extended.”
Australian aviation consultant Trevor Jensen said the fire and emergency services would always be ready for a belly landing, “so this seems unplanned”.
The bird strike would have impacted CFM International's engines if the flock had been sucked into them but that would not have shut them down immediately, giving the operators time to deal with the situation, Dell said.
It's unclear why the plane didn't land after it hit the runway, Dell and Jensen said.
Usually on landing, “You're going to ride your engines and you're going to ride,” Thomas said.
“You come with less fuel, you have a fire tender available, you cover the runway with foam and you get to the furthest point on the runway and it's always in GOOD condition.”