Could ornithologists provide insights into cause of aircraft tragedy that claimed 179 lives on South Korean runway?

Hooded cranes - South Korean wetlands provide important overwintering habitat for the species (photo: Alastair Rae/snowmanradio via Wikimedia Commons)

COULD Hooded Cranes be implicated in the tragic crash in South Korea which claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 passengers and crew who had been on board?

Although it will be many more months before  investigators determine the cause(s) of the tragedy, a collision with birds has been widely reported  as a possible factor.

As has often been the case with aircraft bird strikes all over the world, there seems to have been little attempt to identify what species might have been involved.

A notable historical exception to this was the 'Miracle on the Hudson' incident in 2009 when pilot  Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger succeeded in bringing down an aircraft on  the Hudson River in New York City, with no casualties, following a strike involving Canada Geese.

Are some species particularly prone to collision with aircraft?  If so, could there be a targeted approach to reducing the risk? 

Like many airports all over, the world, Muan International Airport - scene of the latest tragedy - is close to mudflats and wetlands which, at this time of year are full of overwintering  birds.

The airport  sits near three major bird sanctuaries that serve as wintering grounds for migratory birds. A survey  by South Korea’s National Institute of Ecology recorded nearly 19,000 migratory birds of scores of species in these sanctuaries.

Among them are  Baikal Teal, Nordmann’s Greenshank, tens of thousands of Great Knot, perhaps a few Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris  and . . . plentiful Hooded Cranes.

By a horrible irony, cranes are cherished in Korea and regarded as symbols of longevity, and concerted conservation efforts have increased numbers of Hooded Cranes from near-extinction to about 12,000 birds worldwide. 

There are 14 regional airports in South Korea. Between them, they recorded 559 bird-strike incidents between 2019 and August this year. Most have occurred during take-off or landing 

Out of these, only 20 were classified as causing damage.

Muan, in South Jeolla Province on Korea's  south-west coast, had 10 strikes - a relatively high ratio in relation to the number of flight arrivals and departures.

Individual birds weighing up to 1kg seldom cause substantial collision damage, but those weighing above 3kg and and of greater dimension are  potentially more problematic, especially if they strike multiple systems or get sucked into engines, damaging blades.

Hooded Cranes  weigh 3.7kg, are 1-metre long and have a wingspan of 1.87-metres.

According to some reports, staff at Muan Airport reported seeing thousands of birds arriving around the airport itself. These would not have been wetland species. Could a flock of Common Starlings had begun to gather?

As at other airports worldwide, Muan International will have bird-deterrent devices installed, but their effectiveness can never be guaranteed.

The aircraft that crash-landed was a Boeing 737-800, one of the world's most flown planes and one said to have a generally good safety record.

Its engineers will be closely involved with the investigation as will be the manufacturer of the two engines, CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and French company Safron, plus airline company Jeju Air, Muan airport staff and other authorities and scientists.

It is not yet known if  input might also be invited from ornithology experts. 

Suncheon Bay, near Muan Airport, is a habitat favoured by many thousands of wetland birds of  hundreds of different species (photo: Jjw via Wikimedia Commons)