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Investigators found the Jeju Air flight crash-landed with only its badly damaged right engine on, but experts warned against drawing early conclusions.
July 21, 2025Updated 11:22 a.m. ET
Minutes before Jeju Air Flight 2216 crash-landed and killed 179 people in December, the pilots appeared to have shut down the engine that had been less damaged by a bird strike seconds earlier, leaving the plane running on just one damaged engine that caught on fire, investigators have found.
The shutdown likely led to a loss of electrical power and the removal of the aircraft’s main source of thrust, hampering the pilots’ ability to land, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
With limited electrical power, the aircraft tried to land without its landing gear down. The plane slid on its belly, slammed into a concrete wall at the end of the runway and burst into flames. Two flight attendants survived. All passengers and other crew members were killed.
The latest findings, some of which were included in an official interim report shown to families of the victims on Saturday, have increased scrutiny of how the pilots handled the emergency landing after the plane was struck by the birds, damaging both engines. Experts in the United States said it raised the possibility that the pilots misidentified the engine that needed to be shut down, although they cautioned that it was too early to draw such conclusions.
Seoul
8:58:26 a.m.
The plane was
hit by birds.
Muan
8:58:45 a.m.
The pilots shut down
the left engine.
Path of Jeju Air
flight on Dec. 29
8:58:50 a.m.
The plane stopped
recording data.
9:02:57 a.m.
The plane crashed into a
concrete wall past the runway.
The plane turned around and
landed in the opposite direction
without its landing gear lowered.
Exact path of
turn unknown
N
MUAN
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
0.3 mile
Seoul
8:58:26 a.m.
The plane was hit by birds.
Muan
8:58:45 a.m.
The pilots shut down
the left engine.
8:58:50 a.m.
The plane stopped
recording data.
Path of Jeju Air
flight on Dec. 29
MUAN
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
9:02:57 a.m.
The plane crashed into a
concrete wall past the runway.
The plane turned around and
landed in the opposite direction
without its landing gear lowered.
Exact path of
turn unknown
N
0.5 mile
Seoul
8:58:26 a.m.
The plane was hit by birds.
Muan
8:58:45 a.m.
The pilots shut down
the left engine.
8:58:50 a.m.
The plane stopped
recording data.
Path of Jeju Air
flight on Dec. 29
MUAN
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
9:02:57 a.m.
The plane crashed into a
concrete wall past the runway.
Exact path of
turn unknown
The plane turned around and
landed in the opposite direction
without its landing gear lowered.
N
0.3 mile
Seoul
8:58:26 a.m.
The plane was hit by birds. and
both engines appeared
affected.
Muan
8:58:45 a.m.
The pilots shut down
the left engine.
8:58:50 a.m.
The plane stopped
recording data.
Path of Jeju Air
flight on Dec. 29
MUAN
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
9:02:57 a.m.
The plane crashed into a
concrete wall past the runway.
The plane turned in the air,
then landed on the runway
without its landing gear lowered.
Exact path of
turn unknown
N
0.5 mile
“If the pilots lost their displays after the bird strike, they may have had no clear indication of which engine was damaged,” said Joe Jacobsen, an aviation safety expert who has worked at both Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. He emphasized the need for detailed cockpit data before drawing conclusions.
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