What caused the deadly South Korea plane crash

The cause of a fiery horror plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea has been revealed.

The likely cause of a deadly South Korean plane crash that killed 179 people has been revealed.

According to airport authorities, the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, carrying six crew and 175 passengers, likely experienced a bird strike which caused its landing gear to malfunction, Korean outlet Yonhap News Agency reported. Two flight attendants survived.

The South Korean plane was warned about birds being in the area and told to change landing runways to avoid a bird strike.

Just a minute later, the pilot made a mayday call to the control tower, according to the Land Ministry.

The aircraft then attempted a crash landing, however it failed to reduce speed and veered off the runway, smashed into a concrete wall and then caught on fire, killing most on board.

Emergency services have pulled two people alive from the wreckage — but everyone else died in the tragic incident.

179 people are presumed dead after the Jeju Air flight crash. Picture: Yonhap

Witnesses said they saw the plane’s tires remain inactive upon landing. The aircraft then skidded across the runway without wheels for a “belly landing” before veering off, crashing into a fence and bursting into flames.

It is understood the plane had attempted to land at 8.30am local time but failed to do so.

Instead, the jet did a loop around the airport to attempt the second landing.

The head of the Muan Fire Department, Lee Jeong-hyun, stated that while the exact cause is still under investigation, it is believed that a bird strike or bad weather is to blame.

Bird strikes can endanger aeroplanes, as they can hit the plane and damage it. Sometimes, they can go into a plane’s engine and cause the engine to shut down. Bird strikes most often happen when a plan is taking off or landing, because birds normally fly at these lower altitudes.

The aircraft burst into flames after a crash landing. Picture: South Korean National Fire Agency via Getty Images

“The cause of this accident is estimated to be the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather, and the exact cause will be announced later through a joint investigation with related agencies,” Jeong-hyun told media.

Clips of the crash showed clear blue skies at the airport.

Indeed, the chief executive of South Korea’s Jeju Air said the aircraft had “no signs of issues” prior to the tragic accident.

The crash was not due to “any maintenance issues”, according to the head of Jeju Air’s management team.

Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 was carrying 181 people and was travelling from Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan International Airport in South Korea.

Two people have been rescued from the fiery crash, with the other 179 tragically dead.

Two people were rescued from the crash. Picture: YONHAP / AFP

An aviation journalist has described the air disaster as being “very perplexing” given that both the aircraft and the carrier have a very strong safety record and flying conditions were excellent.

The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world and one is used for about four or five flights per day, Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, told CNN.

“It is the most reliable aircraft in the world, and it’s been in service for 20 years,” Ms Thomas said.

“Everybody knows how it works. And it works really, really well. And the maintenance done in (South) Korea is as good as it gets around the world.”

Cause of South Korean plane crash revealed

“It’s a little bit unclear whether or not the undercarriage collapsed on landing or whether the undercarriage was not deployed at all,” Mr Thomas continued.

“This is a really serious issue that obviously investigators will be very much focused on.”

He added that it was odd that the disaster took place in what appeared to be “perfect” weather conditions.

“Everything’s right but everything went wrong. Why? How can that possibly happen – that everything goes wrong in virtually perfect conditions.”