Muan (South Korea) – One day after the tragic plane accident in southwest South Korea, Korean and American investigators are continuing to search for the cause. 179 people died when a Boeing 737-800 belonging to the South Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air crash-landed at Muan International Airport. Only two flight attendants survived the disaster, seriously injured.
Traces on the runway show how the Boeing 737-800 skidded over the runway. The demolished tail of the machine lies behind the runway
The Korean investigators are supported by experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). They want to evaluate the data from the flight recorder and voice recorder, one of which was damaged in the impact. This means that the analysis can take months.
It is currently assumed that a Bird strike – i.e. the collision with one or more birds – could have led to an engine failure and problems with the landing gear.
Im VideoThe plane crashes here
For experts, however, it is a mystery why Flight 7C2216 out of Bangkok During the second landing attempt the landing gear was not extended, but rather on the fuselage slid across the slope. Because: “A warning signal sounds in the cockpit if the landing gear is not extended,” said an experienced captain to BILD. “And if the hydraulic system fails, the chassis can also be extended using gravity extension if necessary.”
With these three handles the right, front and left landing gear can be unlocked manually
Manually extending the landing gear in one Boeing 737-800 is carried out via an emergency system called the “Alternate Gear Extension System”. For this purpose, there is a small cover installed in the floor behind the first officer’s seat, i.e. on the right side of the cockpit. Below there are three handles for the right, front and left landing gear, with which you can unlock each landing gear individually if the hydraulics have failed.
Pilots regularly train with the levers
To do this, according to the manual, the handles must be pulled up one after the other 24 inches, i.e. approx. 61 centimeters, until they stop. Gravity causes the wheels to extend and lock, allowing a safe landing despite hydraulic failure.
The use of the “Alternate Gear Extension System” is regularly trained in the simulator to ensure that the crew is familiar with it. Could the disaster have been prevented if the two pilots of ill-fated flight 7C2216 had used these three levers and manually extended the landing gear?
Why the pilots didn’t use these three levers remains a mystery for now. Did you run out of time? Or are you stressed? emergency landing didn’t think of this possibility? Answers to these questions will be available after the flight data recorder and voice recorder have been evaluated and the accident investigation has been completed.
Bird strike, late landingWhy did Flight 7C2216 crash?