Victim recovery, on-site investigation of Jeju Air crash end
Published: 26 Jan. 2025, 15:19
Updated: 26 Jan. 2025, 17:29
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- LIM JEONG-WON
- [email protected]
![Members of a government joint investigation team, including Transport Ministry’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib), inspect the area around the tail wing of the crashed passenger plane at the sie of the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport on Jan. 8. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/26/69d7d60e-5ce6-4697-a9c1-1c15485392f8.jpg)
Members of a government joint investigation team, including Transport Ministry’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib), inspect the area around the tail wing of the crashed passenger plane at the sie of the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport on Jan. 8. [YONHAP]
The search and recovery of victims and on-site investigation procedures for the Jeju Air plane crash that claimed 179 lives on Dec. 29 last year ended Saturday as the authorities announced the details of bird strikes and the bereaved families agreed to an end to investigations.
Authorities said Saturday that “the feathers and bloodstains from both engines of the crashed passenger plane were identified as those of baikal teals, a winter migratory bird.”
The association of the bereaved families announced Sunday that it had held a second meeting the day before in the waiting room of Muan International Airport and had decided to end further searches for body fragments or remains.
The bereaved families had previously requested that the authorities search an additional 100 meters (109 yards) from the point where the plane crash occurred, citing the discovery of passenger seats as much as 100 meters away from the point of impact. Muan International Airport is closed until April 18 for facility restoration and other related matters.
After the families held funeral rites on Jan. 6, recovered body fragments that had yet to be identified were handed over to the National Forensic Service (NFS) for confirmation. The association of bereaved families is currently considering a plan to place the remains in a separate space after receiving analysis results from the NFS around Feb. 7.
Possessions from the crash that have not been returned to the bereaved families due to not being identified will also continue to be collected until Feb. 15. After that, the remaining objects from the crash site will be dried and vacuumed before being stored in the same place as the bodies.
The first on-site investigation to determine the cause of the accident has been also completed.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib) explained the status of the investigation and future investigation plans to the bereaved families on Saturday, announcing that feathers and bloodstains of baikal teals were found in both engines of the plane.
The baikal teal is a migratory bird with a body length of about 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) and a wing length of about 21 centimeters that breeds in eastern Siberia and spends the winter in Korea, Japan, China and other Northeast Asian regions.
“We are synchronizing and analyzing the black box and control communication records by time zone to determine the operating conditions of the plane, external influences and any abnormalities in the aircraft or engines,” Araib said in a statement. “This is a situation that requires several months of detailed analysis and verification.”
![Victims' representative Park Han-shin sheds tears at the joint memorial ceremony held for the victims of the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airpot on Jan. 18. [KIM HYUN-DONG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/26/7f8f0947-9fc4-4a59-87ed-f105f4bf6751.jpg)
Victims' representative Park Han-shin sheds tears at the joint memorial ceremony held for the victims of the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airpot on Jan. 18. [KIM HYUN-DONG]
The bereaved families told Araib authorities to “please conduct a transparent and objective investigation,” and that they would “trust and wait for it.”
Araib conducted its on-site investigation on Jan. 20 and moved the debris that needed detailed analysis to the Gimpo Airport Test and Analysis Center.
The families are planning to hold a joint memorial service during the Lunar New Year holiday. The bereaved families’ association will hold a memorial service for the victims at Muan International Airport’s first-floor waiting room at 10 a.m. on Jan. 29, the day of the Lunar New Year.
The 20 or so families currently staying at Muan International Airport’s temporary shelter have decided to return home on Feb. 15, when the 49-day memorial service for the victims concludes.
The Jeju Air disaster occurred at 9:03 a.m. on the Dec. 29 last year, when the passenger aircraft attempted an emergency landing on the Muan International Airport runway and crashed into a concrete-reinforced localizer mound at the end of the runway. The accident killed 179 of the 181 people on board, including six crew members.
BY CHOI KYEONG-HO, HWANG HEE-GYU, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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