Muan Airport Records 10 Bird Strikes in 6 Years... Highest Occurrence Rate

“Bird strike” is presumed to be the main cause of the Jeju Air aircraft accident that occurred at Muan International Airport on the 29th. In recent years, the number of bird strikes at Muan Airport has been higher compared to other airports.

On the 29th, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway while landing at Muan International Airport, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dying. The wreckage of the aircraft is placed on the runway at Muan International Airport, Jeonnam. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

According to data submitted by Korea Airports Corporation to Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, there were a total of 10 bird strike incidents at Muan Airport from 2019 to August of this year. Considering that 11,004 flights operated at Muan Airport during this period, the occurrence rate is estimated at 0.09%.

In the case of Muan International Airport, the bird strike rate relative to the total number of flights is the highest among the 14 regional airports nationwide. This rate is higher than other major airports such as Gimpo (0.018%) and Jeju (0.013%). However, since the absolute number of collisions is very small, it is difficult to generalize this as a statistically significant trend.

The total number of bird strikes at all airports has steadily increased: 108 cases in 2019, 76 in 2020, 109 in 2021, 131 in 2022, and 152 last year. This is attributed to climate change causing migratory birds to become resident birds and changes in the timing and species of birds appearing.

In January of this year, bird strikes occurred during aircraft takeoff and landing at Cheongju Airport and Incheon Airport. At Incheon, on February 6, a bird flew into the engine and landing gear of an aircraft that had just taken off and reached 17 feet (about 5.2 m) altitude, and on June 24, a bird collided with the front of an aircraft running on the runway for takeoff, causing the plane to return.

A bird strike refers to the phenomenon where a bird collides with the aircraft’s fuselage or engine during takeoff, landing, or cruising. It is known that when a 900g mallard duck collides with an aircraft ascending at 370 km/h, the instantaneous impact force on the aircraft reaches 4.8 tons.

If a bird is sucked into an aircraft engine, it can lead to major accidents such as fires. Due to the location characteristics of airports, which often have many fields, and especially in Korea where many airports are located near rivers or coasts, the likelihood of bird collisions is considered higher.