Officials investigating the horror Korean plane crash that killed 179 people have made a huge DNA discovery.
The Jeju Air passenger plane crash landed at Muan International Airport on 29 December with only two of the 181 people onboard surviving.
The Boeing 737-800 had departed from Bangkok, Thailand, before it smashed into a wall after skidding down the runway in South Korea. This came after the plane’s landing gear failed to deploy and it ended up bursting into flames.
Earlier this month, officials said they had been extracting data from one of the black boxes on the jet while the other was damaged in the crash. It was found that both stopped recording about four minutes before the deadly incident.
A new report said the cause is still not determined (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
And investigators have now referenced DNA findings that have been made during an inspection of the aircraft’s remains.
South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board released a report, stating that feathers and bird blood stains had been found in both of the jet’s engines.
“The samples were sent to specialised organisations for DNA analysis, and a domestic organisation identified them as belonging to Baikal teals,” it explained.
Baikal teals are a species of migrating duck that breeds in eastern Russia and winters in East Asia.
The report went on to outline how pilots had noticed groups of birds when making their approach at the Korean airport. There were also recordings from security cameras of the plane coming close to birds during an aborted landing attempt.
Officials added that they would be overseeing the dismantling of engines and examination their contents as well as the analysation of black box and air traffic control data.
The report explained: “These all-out investigation activities aim to accurately determine the cause of the accident.”
The plane crashed in December (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
And with the black boxes of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder having cut out, it could complicate efforts in doing so.
Analysts have said that the concrete structure in which the aircraft crashed into should have been built with lighter materials that could break more easily upon impact.
It was announced last week by South Korea’s Transport Ministry that it is being removed.
Muan airport is now set to remain closed until 18 April and the Transport Ministry said the preliminary report has been sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Thailand, the US and France. It added that the plane was built in the US and its engines in France.
Following the crash, Boeing said: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”
Jeju Air also added: “We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident. We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused.”
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