By Lisa Barrington, Heekong and Hightpole
Seoul (Reuters) -a jeju air aircraft, which crashed in December during an emergency landing after a bird blow could continue to fly on the damaged engine that still operated after the pilots closed the other, according to an update by South Korean investigators.
Instead, the Boeing 737-800 descended at Muan Airport without landing down, removed the runway and burst into a fiery ball after it stuck in a mound, killing everyone but two of the 181 people on board.
Investigators have not yet prepared a final report on the most deadly air accident on South Korean soil, but information about the two engines of the aircraft has begun to appear.
According to an update on July 19, prepared by investigators and watched by Reuters, but was not publicly released after complaints from the victim family members, the left engine had received less damage than the right after a bird blow, but the left engine was closed 19 seconds after the bird’s impact.
The right engine “jump” and radiates flames and black smoke, but investigators said it was “confirmed to generate an output sufficient for flight”, in the five -page update, which included photos after a crash of the two engines.
The crew’s actions have not been given and the probe is expected to continue for months, as investigators have reconstructed the technical condition of the aircraft and the picture understood by its pilots.
Experts say that most air accidents are caused by many factors and cautious from putting too much weight on incomplete evidence.
More questions
So far, public attention has focused on the possibility of the crew closed a less damaged engine, igniting memories of the Boeing 737-400 crash of 1989 in Kegworth, England, where pilots closed an unharmed engine by mistake.
The disaster has led to a number of changes in regulations, including improvements in crew communication and emergency procedures.
A source told Reuters on Monday that the probe led by South Korea has “clear evidence” that the pilots have excluded the less damaged left engine after the bird impact, citing the voice recorder of the cockpit, computer data and switch found in the remains.
But the last accident update also raises the possibility of an even more damaged engine that still runs to keep the aircraft longer.
He did not say what a level of performance still has the operating engine, nor what additional options can be given to the crew focused on the airplane’s accident before the aircraft doubled back and land in the opposite direction of its original landing plan.
Both engines contained bird damage and both experienced the vibration of the engine after the impact. The right -wing engine showed significant internal damage, Korean update said by the Aviation and Railway Investigation Council in South Korea (Araib), but did not describe the damage found in the left engine.
The update did not say how the left engine works, nor the status of systems related to any of the engine, said a former investigator of the US National Transport Safety Council Greg Faith when the document translated by Reuters was shown.
It contains some new facts, but it misses much more, leading to a “cryptic” document, he said.
Araib, who plans to issue a final report next June, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Safety experts say it is common for early reports to contain scarce facts and limited analysis as investigations continue.
A preliminary report published in January is said that feathers and stains of duck blood were found in both engines.
The engines – made by CFM International, joint ownership of GE and France’s Safran – were considered in May and no defects or damage were found outside the bird damage and the crash, the report said.
The families of those killed in the disaster were informed of the engine’s findings, but asked investigators not to release the report on July 19, saying it seemed to be guilty of pilots without examining other factors.
The report was withheld, but Reuters and the South Korean media received copies. Boeing and GE have indicated questions about the crash to the Arab. Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier, Jeju Air said he cooperated with Araib and was waiting for the publication of the investigation.
According to global aviation rules, civil air investigations are intended to find causes of crashes without assigning guilt or responsibility.
The Union of Jeju Air pilots said the Arab “misleads the public”, suggesting that there was no problem with the left engine, given that both remains of birds were found in both.
A source that was present at the briefing told Reuters that investigators told family members that the left engine had also had a devastating “jump”, citing Black Box data.
The pilot union and the representatives of the victims have requested the evidence to be published in support of any findings.
Relatives claim that the investigation should also focus on the embankment containing navigation equipment, which safety experts said they may have contributed to the high number of death.
Global aviation standards require any navigation equipment in accordance with the installation of structures of structures that are easily inferior in case of airplane impact.
The South Korea Transport Ministry identifies seven internal airports, including Muan, with structures made of concrete or steel, not materials that break down when struck and said it would improve them.
The projects of the new structures are underway, a ministry official told Reuters last week.
(Lisa Barrington and Hecong Yang Report in Seoul and Dan Catch in Seattle; Additional Reporting from Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul; Editing by Jamie Fried)