Aviation Mystery: Expert Baffled by south Korean Plane Incident
A puzzling aviation incident in South Korea has left a leading expert scratching his head. The incident, details of which are still emerging, has prompted questions about pilot procedure and emergency response.
Aviation commentator and expert Geoffrey Thomas shared his analysis, highlighting several unusual aspects of the event. He stated, “It appears as though there has been a bird strike and one of the engines, the right-hand engine was impacted. This would have caused a lot of pressure in the cockpit.”
Thomas’s assessment points to a potential bird strike as the initial trigger. The impact on the engine, he explained, would have created important stress within the cockpit surroundings. This raises questions about the pilots’ subsequent actions.
Adding to the mystery, Thomas suggested a possible oversight: “With all the checking and cross-checking going on relating to this engine failure, it could well be that [the] pilots simply forgot to put the landing gear down.”
The possibility of a forgotten landing gear deployment is particularly concerning. Thomas noted that pilots receive warnings about large flocks of mallard ducks near Muan Airport during certain times of the year. He emphasized, “Pilots see warnings near Muan airport at this time of year for flocks of mallard birds, which can be very large.”
Even if the landing gear wasn’t deployed, standard procedures should have mitigated the risk. Thomas explained that, “But if the landing gear was not deployed, warnings would have sounded in the cockpit, and the undercarriage could be manually deployed if a problem prevented the landing gear from descending.” The lack of a successful manual deployment further adds to the intrigue.
The expert continued, “Whether the engine situation was such that they felt they didn’t have time to do that we don’t no, but they would have declared an emergency and therefore the firefighting units should have been runway-side” and prepared for a gear-up landing. Standard emergency procedures include deploying foam on the runway to cushion the impact in such scenarios.
Despite the unusual circumstances, Thomas acknowledged South Korea’s strong aviation safety record. He commented, “Thomas says that South Korea and its airlines are considered ‘industry best practice’ - both the aircraft and the airline have an ‘excellent safety record’.” This makes the incident all the more perplexing.
Concluding his assessment, Thomas expressed his overall uncertainty, stating, “A lot of things about this tragedy don’t make sense.”
This incident underscores the complexities of aviation safety and the importance of thorough investigation into even seemingly minor incidents. The aviation community awaits further details and the official investigation’s findings.
