Left engine may have failed due to bird strike in S. Korea's tragedy

[Anchor]

Among the various questions surrounding this tragedy, our reporting team was able to infer some details through the flight path just before the accident.

It has been confirmed that there were issues not only with the right engine, as initially reported, but also with the left engine, and records show that the flight altitude changed rapidly, possibly due to this.

Reporters Bang Jun-won and Lee Do-yoon will provide further details.

[Report]

Flames erupt from the right engine of the aircraft, followed immediately by white smoke.

This moment has drawn attention as a potential bird strike.

However, let’s shift our focus to the left engine.

Upon detailed analysis of the footage, the flames are small but clearly visible.

The only difference is the size compared to the right engine; the color and dispersion are almost identical.

[Go Seung-hee/Professor, Department of Aeronautical Science and Flight Operation, Silla University: "(It can be inferred that) a few birds likely entered the right engine, and some of them may have struck the fuselage, while one or two may have entered the left engine."]

KBS commissioned two current pilots and experts to analyze the video.

They agreed that there is a high possibility that the left engine also experienced a bird strike.

It is uncertain whether there was a total loss of engine power or just a partial loss, but if both engines were completely shut down, it would effectively make piloting impossible.

[Go Seung-hee/Professor, Department of Aeronautical Science and Flight Operation, Silla University: "If you turn off the engine while driving a car, the steering wheel will turn halfway and then lock up. It becomes stiff. That is hydraulic pressure. An aircraft operates similarly."]

Once the control stick starts to stop, manual operation becomes virtually impossible.

[Go Seung-hee/Professor, Department of Aeronautical Science and Flight Operation, Silla University: "(In training) we confirmed that it stiffens in just 10 to 15 minutes, and turning itself becomes impossible. Even with two people, it couldn't be done. We tried it."]

The abnormal flight path observed during the return process also suggests the possibility of simultaneous failure of both engines.

This is KBS News, Bang Jun-won.