A Boeing 737-800 passenger plane belonging to Jeju Air crashed in South Korea due to "tragic coincidences of fate.

Axar.az reports that experts told The New York Times the crash, which occurred on December 29 at Muan Airport in South Korea, killing 179 people (only two survivors), was caused by several factors. The plane, coming from Bankong, collided with a bird two minutes after the pilot reported a bird swarm in the airspace. The dispatcher was immediately informed of the emergency. The pilot canceled the first landing attempt and indicated plans to make a "circular maneuver" to prepare for the second attempt. However, it seems he was unable to complete the turn, and a minute later, the plane approached the runway. Three minutes later, the plane crashed into a concrete structure at the end of the runway, causing an explosion.

"The big question is: why was the pilot in such a hurry to land?" said Hwan Ho Won, president of the Korea Aviation Safety Association.

He noted that after the bird collision, the engines failed, and the landing gear did not deploy. When landing is forced, pilots usually do not rush, allowing time for fuel to be drained and ground services to prepare for the situation. However, it seems the pilot did not have much time.

"Did both engines fail? Was the rush in landing a pilot error?" the expert asked.

The New York Times writes that the pilot had approximately 7,000 hours of flight experience. Professor Park Sin Joo from Korea Open Cyber University stated that engine failure does not typically cause landing gear problems, but in this case, both issues likely occurred simultaneously, forcing the pilot to make an emergency belly landing within minutes.

Another factor contributing to the disaster was the length of the runway at Muan Airport. Normally, it is 9,200 feet (2.8 km), but due to construction work on the day of the crash, only 8,200 feet (about 2.5 km) were available. Officials say this distance was sufficient for a Boeing 737-800 landing. However, the plane did not land at the beginning of the runway but started its descent further ahead, reducing the available runway length.

Experts speaking to The New York Times emphasized that the plane’s problems began before it struck the concrete structure. Aviation experts say that during the landing, the pilot was unable to control either the engines or the landing gear, depriving the plane of two key speed-reducing mechanisms: the landing gear brake and the reverse thrust function of the engines. Furthermore, it seems that another speed-reducing mechanism, the wing flaps, was not activated.

"These questions will only be answered once the black box of the plane is studied," said aviation expert Hüngvun Jey Yu Yung.

The black box has been found, but it is partially damaged, and retrieving the data will require time.