Where the deadly South Korean airline crash investigation is heading
CNN
Moments before the crash of Jeju Air flight 2216, a passenger aboard texted a friend that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft had struck a bird.
Moments before the crash of Jeju Air flight 2216, a passenger aboard texted a friend that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft had struck a bird. “Wait a minute… we can’t land because a bird (or birds) caught in our wing,” the passenger said at 9 am local time, on a Korean messaging platform, KakaoTalk, according to messages widely shared in South Korean media, including CNN affiliate JTBC. “Since when?” the other person asked. “Just now… Should I leave last words?” the passenger responded, before contact was lost. The possible bird strike, lack of landing gear deployment and concrete barrier all could have contributed to the aviation accident, which has been labeled as the deadliest in South Korea since 1997. However, the cause of the crash has yet to be determined just days after the tragedy. It could be months before we know why flight 2216 crashed. Sometimes, what the public believes caused a crash turns out to be far off base once an investigation concludes. US officials, including the National Transportation Safety Board, plane maker Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, are working with South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board to provide more information about the incident.
