SEOUL, Jan 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Bird feathers and bloodstains were found in 
both engines of the Jeju Air plane that crashed in December, killing 179 
people, according to a preliminary investigation released Monday.

The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan in southwest South Korea 
on December 29, carrying 181 passengers and crew, when it belly-landed and 
exploded into a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.

It was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.

South Korean and American investigators are still probing the cause of the 
crash, with a bird strike, faulty landing gear and the runway barrier being 
examined as possible issues.

Both engines recovered from the crash site were inspected, and bird 
bloodstains and feathers were "found on each", the report said.

"The pilots identified a group of birds while approaching runway 01, and a 
security camera filmed HL8088 coming close to a group of birds during a go-
around," the report added, referring to the jet's registration number.

It did not specify whether the engines had stopped working in the moments 
leading up to the crash.

DNA analysis identified the feathers and blood as coming from Baikal teals, 
migratory birds which fly to Korea in winter from their breeding grounds in 
Siberia.

The report also confirmed that both the cockpit voice recorder and flight 
data recorder had stopped working four minutes before the disaster, leaving a 
gap in the data.

It did not suggest a cause for the malfunction.

The captain had over 6,800 flight hours, while the first officer had 1,650 
hours, the report said. Both were killed in the crash, which was survived 
only by two flight attendants.

The Jeju plane exploded in flames when it collided with a concrete embankment 
during its landing, prompting questions about why that type barricade was in 
place at the end of the runway.

Last week, authorities said they would replace such concrete barriers at 
airports nationwide with "breakable structures".