Overview

• The Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash on December 29, 2024, killed 179 of the 181 people on board, making it the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
• A preliminary investigation confirmed bird feathers and blood from Baikal teals, a migratory duck, were found in both engines, suggesting bird strikes during landing attempts.
• Both black boxes stopped recording four minutes before the crash, complicating efforts to determine why the plane landed without deploying landing gear or wing flaps.
• The plane collided with a reinforced concrete structure housing navigation equipment, which experts say likely worsened the crash's impact and death toll.
• South Korea has announced plans to replace similar concrete runway structures nationwide with breakable materials to improve safety at airports.