Pilots in Jeju plane crash had been trying to avoid flock of 50,000 birds while landing

179 people were killed when a South Korean flight crashed in December 2024.

Jeju Air Flight 2216 was coming in to land at Muan International Airport when it struck a flock of birds.

Newly released info estimated the number of birds at around 50,000.

The pilot had asked to go around since he deemed it unsafe.

However, Korean media reports that six seconds after the decision to go around, the plane collided with the birds.

This led to the plane being forced to make a belly landing.

In newly released info, Reuters reported that the pilots shut off the less-damaged engine after the collision.

The pilots were able to bring the plane down, but it collided with a concrete barrier at the end of the runway.

The report said that the crash might not have been deadly if there had not been a concrete mound at the end of the runway.

A full investigative report is still pending public disclosure. The Muan airport is due to reopen in April.

Image from Internet