South Korea plane crash: Pilot reported bird strike before plane went down

Firefighters and recovery teams work at the scene of the crash

The pilot of a plane which crashed in South Korea reported a bird strike and declared mayday minutes before it went down, it has been revealed. Just two of the 181 people on board the Jeju Air plane survived the flight from Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan International Airport in South Korea.

At 8.54 am local time on Sunday the plane's pilot was given permission to land. However, just three minutes later, the airport's control tower warned of the possibility of a bird strike. Then, a minute after that the captain sent a mayday signal. At 9.03 am the plane then failed a crash landing attempt, veering off the runway, slamming into a concrete wall and exploding into flames.

Buddhist monks mourn the victims of the crash. Pics/AFP

Officials are struggling to determine what caused the deadly plane crash that killed 179 people. Many observers also worry how effectively the South Korean government will handle the aftermath of Sunday's crash as it grapples with a leadership vacuum following the recent successive impeachments of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minster Han Duck-soo, the country's top two officials, amid political tumult caused by Yoon's brief martial law introduction earlier this month.

New Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday presided over a task force meeting on the crash and instructed the Transport Ministry and police to launch investigations into its cause. He ordered the ministry to implement an emergency review of the country's overall aircraft operations.

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