South Korea plane crash: 7-day mourning declared, bird strike unlikely sole cause

South Korea has declared 7 days of national mourning on Sunday after a deadly plane crash that killed 179 people, according to local media. The acting president, Choi Sang-mok, made the announcement at an emergency safety meeting after the jet crashed.

Choi expressed his deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of victims in the unexpected tragedy. The Finance Ministry has also announced that memorial alters are going to be built at the crash side, in addition to 17 cities and provinces across the country.

On Sunday morning, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air caught fire during landing after reportedly experiencing landing gear issues around 9:07 am local time in Muan County, around 288 km from the capital Seoul.

South Korea plane crash: Bird strike the only factor?

The plane skidded along the ground and crashed into a fence before bursting into flames. It is the deadliest incident in the history of Jeju Air. Public officials are going to put on mourning ribbons as a mark of respect, the Foreign Ministry added.

One day after the fatal airline disaster in South Korea, questions still float around the reason. Some experts are stressing that a bird striking the engine is unlikely to be the only factor. The air traffic control reportedly issued a bird strike alert shortly before the accident.

Birds strikes are so common that they are factored into the design of modern planes. On a Boeing 737 and any commercial airliner there are layers of redundancy, especially for the landing gear – that is hydraulically operated, the Guardian quoted an expert as saying.