Jeju Air crash interim report cites pilot error; families demand transparency

Cockpit voice recordings show that although the captain instructed to shut down "engine number two," the pilot mistakenly disabled the left engine instead. This error resulted in total loss of power and nonfunctional safety components just before impact.

Additional analysis suggests deviations from standard emergency procedures by the flight crew. Instead of maintaining their approach path after the bird strike, they attempted a climb and irregular maneuvers before trying a rushed landing from an opposite direction on the runway.

Jeju Air flight 7C2216 was operating from Bangkok to Muan when it issued a mayday and attempted an emergency landing at Muan International Airport. With no thrust or power, it landed at high speed with retracted landing gear, skidding off and colliding with a concrete berm before catching fire. Only two out of 181 people survived.

The interim findings have been met with strong objections from both victims' families and Jeju Air pilots' union. The union criticized what they called "malicious framing" of actions by investigators and questioned airport infrastructure's role in worsening outcomes. Families expressed frustration over lack of access to critical data like flight data recorder information.

Following these objections, ARAIB agreed to cancel a scheduled press conference after family representatives demanded its cancellation during a closed-door briefing session.