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Analysis underway of bird feathers, blood sample taken from engine of ill-fated Jeju Air plane

Published: 09 Jan. 2025, 14:31

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

One of the plane engines from the Jeju Air crash is transported on a truck from the site of the accident at Muan International Airport on Jan. 4, seven days since the accident. [NEWS1]

Analysis is underway of bird strike traces found in an engine of the Jeju Air passenger plane that crashed on Dec. 29, with bird feathers and blood stains from the crash debris sent to research institutes for analysis on Thursday.

According to the Transport Ministry on Thursday, the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib) sent 17 bird feather pieces and one blood sample collected from one of the plane’s engines to the National Institute of Biological Resources for analysis. The procedure seeks to identify the type of bird that collided with the plane.

The feathers collected are reportedly fragmented and contaminated with mud.

As determining the bird's species through an examination alone is difficult, Araib plans to confirm the type of bird through DNA analysis.

However, since there is no DNA in the feathers themselves, the genes remaining in the hair roots of the feathers must be examined. Only a tiny portion of the 17 feather fragments sent as samples to the National Institute of Biological Resources will likely have genes remaining to be extracted.

If the work of identifying the type of bird through genetic analysis is successful, the approximate size of the bird that collided with the plane can be estimated.

“If the sample condition is good, it takes about a week to get the results,” an official from the National Institute of Biological Resources said.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]