War of words over crashed South Korean jet as experts say bird strike would NOT have crippled landing gear --Also, emergency touch-down with longer runway may have saved some of the 179 killed | 29 Dec 2024 | Aviation experts say a bird strike should not have crippled the landing gear of the doomed plane that crashed in South Korea and killed 179 people. The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people is believed to have encountered a flock of birds as it came in to land at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning. Unverified video footage reportedly of the aircraft shows a burst of fire coming out of the jet's right engine supposedly showing the moment the bird struck the plane... But experts have raised doubts with Australian airline safety expert Geoffrey Dell saying: "I've never seen a bird strike prevent the landing gear from being extended." Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas said bird strikes happen "far more often, but typically they don't cause the loss of an airplane by themselves."

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