Moments before the Jeju Air flight crashed, which killed 179 people, a passenger on board sent a text message to a friend claiming that a bird had hit the plane, according to messages shared in South Korean media, including the CNN JTBC.
“Wait a minute… we can’t land because a bird (or birds) got stuck on our wing,” he wrote this Sunday (29), around 9 am (local time) on a Korean messaging platform, KakaoTalk.
“When?” asked the other person.
“Right now… Should I leave my last words?”, replied the passenger, before contact was lost.
Local fire officials and aviation experts say some sort of landing gear malfunction was likely, and the pilot also made a mayday call shortly after the control tower warned of birds in the area, but the official accident investigation may take years.
Experts have urged local authorities, who are facing demands for answers from loved ones among those killed in the aviation disaster, not to speculate about the cause until more information is available.
Worst plane crash in decades
At least 179 people died in a plane crash in South Korea on Saturday (28), according to local fire and rescue authorities.
This is the country’s worst air disaster in decades. Two people survived, both crew members.
The Jeju Air plane was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members when it crash-landed at Muan County Airport. Everyone on board was South Korean except for two Thai citizens.
This content was originally published in See message sent by passenger before plane crash in South Korea on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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