At a meeting of a committee to avoid bird strikes at Muan International Airport, a dozen authorities convened in a room to review the number of planes struck by birds, which has increased over the last two years, according to statistics.
According to a meeting record that a congressman was able to get, one official from one of the nation’s aviation training institutions voiced worry that planes landing frequently ran into flocks of birds along the shore.
It was not a comforting response. According to an official, there weren’t enough vehicles and personnel stationed at the airport to deter birds, and the noises emitted by loudspeakers meant to frighten birds away weren’t loud enough to be heard far enough beyond the airport.
Then, on December 29, when the aircraft was descending, the pilot of Jeju Air Flight 2216 yelled, “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” and informed air traffic authorities that a bird had struck. 179 of the 181 passengers on board were murdered when the airplane exploded into a flame after performing a quick turn, landing on its belly, sliding down the runway, and colliding with a concrete barrier.
The causes of the accident and the potential contribution of a bird hit have not been determined by investigators. However, the nation’s transport ministry reported that both of the jet’s engines had blood and feathers from birds. The bones were determined to belong to the Baikal teal, a wintertime migratory bird that is prevalent in South Korea.
Airport operators had already received warnings concerning birds prior to the meeting on December 19. According to a New York Times analysis of thousands of pages of government documents, interviews with dozens of people, and a visit to the wetlands surrounding the airport in the southwest of the country, the risks had been identified for decades, even before the Muan airport opened in 2007. Numerous bird species were seen to reside in the vicinity of the airport, according to environmental evaluations conducted in 1998 and 2008.
Most glaringly, South Korea’s Environmental Impact Assessment agency said that there was “a high risk of bird strikes during takeoff and landing” when the airport started repairs in 2020 that included extending its runway.
In response to inquiries from The Times, the Korea Airports Corporation stated that it had carried out environmental studies to keep an eye on the ecosystems surrounding the airport and had dispersed groups of birds using cars and noisemakers in order to minimize bird attacks. Following the meeting on December 19, the firm reported that more loudspeakers were placed on airport property.
However, the government claims that Muan still lacks thermal imaging cameras and bird detection radar, which are necessary to notify pilots and air traffic controllers of the presence of birds, like the majority of smaller airports in South Korea.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations institution that establishes international standards for the aviation sector, has issued recommendations advising airports worldwide to use such safeguards.
