The latest warning came 10 days before the most deadly air crash in Korea.
Dozens of officials gathered inside rooms at Muang International Airport to discuss the number of aircraft being attacked by birds at a meeting of the Bird Strike Prevention Committee.
According to conference records obtained by lawmakers, officials from one of the nation's aviation training institutions expressed concern that planes often encountered bird flocks from the coastline. How far can you keep birds away? the official asked.
The answer was not at ease. There were not enough people and cars deployed at the airport to keep the airport away. The sound of the speakers used to broadcast noise to scare birds across the airport was used by officials from the company that managed the airport facilities. He pointed out that they are “doing their best.”
Later, on December 29th, the pilot of Jeju Airmail 2216 declared, “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” And as the plane was descending, the air traffic controller told him there had been a bird attack. After a sharp turn, the jet landed on his belly, slid down the runway, plunging into a concrete barrier, exploding into a fireball that killed 179 people on board.
Investigators have not specified the reason for the crash and what role they played if the bird attacks were to occur. However, the country's Ministry of Transport said that bird feathers and blood were found in both jet engines. The site was identified as coming from Baikal Thir, a migratory bird common to Korea in the winter.
The December 19th meeting was not the first warning that airport operators received about the birds. For decades, the danger was flagged for decades, dating back to the 2007 Muang Airport's opening, according to thousands of government documents, interviews with dozens of people, and a New York Times survey of visiting the wetlands surrounding the country's southwestern airport. Environmental assessments in 1998 and 2008 also point out that there are many species of birds that live near the airport.
The South Korean Environmental Impact Assessment Service said in 2020 when the airport began renovations, including an extension of the runway, there was a high risk of bird strikes during takeoff and landing. He recommended that measures be taken to reduce the risk.
Korea Airports Corporation said it used vehicles and noise makers to disperse bird flocks and conducted environmental surveys to monitor the surrounding habitat of the airport to prevent bird attacks. The company said more speakers were installed at the airport facilities after the December 19 meeting.
But like most small airports in South Korea, Muang still lacks air transport cameras and bird detection radar, which, according to the government, was used to warn air traffic controllers and pilots of the presence of birds.
According to guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations Aviation Organization that sets global standards for the aviation industry, it is recommended that such measures be implemented everywhere.
“The regulations are there, but people are breaking them without any impact,” says Dr. Nial Moores, national director of birds and South Korea at the Bird Conservation Group. “They were warned of the risk of bird attacks,” he added. “Why haven't anything changed?”
In addition to not following international guidelines, airport operators also violated domestic safety regulations.
On the day of crash in Muang, there was only one person on duty to beware of birds, rather than at least two people required by government regulations.
According to a presentation by MP Moon Gaum Jew at the committee hearing, the bird patrol is the end of a 15-hour night shift, a period during which the majority of bird attacks occur. Joo Jung Wang, head of aviation policy at the Department of Transport, acknowledged that airport patrols are understaffed and said all airports will meet the minimum staffing future staffing.
Korea Airports Corporation said it was sticking to government standards and had hired more staff to prevent bird crashes. The Ministry of Transport declined to comment.
Additionally, at least one person needed to attend the Bird Strike Prevention Committee meeting had missed it on December 19, a South Korean Airport Corporation official who was recognized at the Congressional hearing. The state-owned enterprises operate almost all of South Korean airports, including Muang's airport.
“It's a shame they've known about their shortcomings for years, but nothing has actually been done to improve,” said opposition MP Kwon Heean Yeup, who has obtained the Bird Safety Committee report.
Airplane strikes in wildlife are not uncommon, but most often they don't crash the plane. Nearly 20,000 wildlife struck in the US in 2023, causing about 4% to damage planes.
Since the crash, the South Korean government has pledged 247 billion won (approximately $173 million) over three years, improving bird strike precautions at all airports in the country. Planned measures include the installation of bird detection devices and the implementation of a national radar model to alert pilots about the presence of the birds.
Some experts ask if Muang Airport should be built at all, as there is a wealth of birds in the surrounding wetlands. Airports have reported at least two bird attacks from 15 airports in the country in the past five years, up six in 2024, up from two in the previous year.
Data released by lawmaker Kwon shows that the percentage of bird strikes was 10 times higher than that of Incheon International Airport, the country's largest. Incheon, located near the bird's habitat, identifies almost 100 species of birds nearby. According to a representative at the airport, four thermal imaging cameras, two devices that emit repeated bird noise, and 48 workers are assigned to bird controls.
Ju Yung-Ki, a researcher and conservationist who has repeatedly visited the Muang region in recent years, worked in his office on December 29th when he learned about the crash of a plane.
“I always thought there was a risk of bird attacks there,” said Ju, director of the Ecoculture Institute. Mr. Joo went in and out of Muang Airport several times despite his concerns.
After hearing the news of the crash, he traveled about 70 miles from his home northeast of Muang to the lake near the airport, arriving at about 4:30pm, where he could see the charred tails of the plane and the wreckage at the end of the runway. “It was horrifying,” he said, adding that he shed tears as he thought of the dead.
As the afternoon progressed, he also found a flock of Baikal Thir about 18 miles from the airport. They flew that distance at least to find food, and he observed with binoculars and telescopes that the airport was on the daily flight path.
The Baikal Thir is not particularly large, and has an 8-inch wingspan about 16 inches long. But ducks move in large, agile flocks that can reach millions, said Dr. Mooes, a Korean bird. They breed in Siberia and arrive on the southwest coast of Korea in October and stay until early March.
Muang, about 200 miles south of Seoul, is located within wetland grasslands and reservoirs of the southwest peninsula. There, ducks and other species of birds roamed in calm water pockets. A local business owner said the bird flock was most frequently seen at country clubs near the airport. It's about 4 miles away.
Enforcement regulations accompanying South Korea's airport facilities in 2017 stipulate that airports cannot be built within 8km or about 5 miles of bird sanctuaries or gaming sanctuaries. However, according to the country's Ministry of Environment, there is only one such sanctuary in Muang, which is about 12 miles from the airport.
Conservatorists say reality is different. They say the term sanctuary is classified as a collective habitat and breeding ground for endangered species of wildlife – neglecting many of the area's populated bird habitats. A map of the South Korean civil aviation office identifies four regions surrounding Muang Airport, where birds roost and eat.
Some of these spots are located just over a mile from the airport. One February morning, hundreds of birds flew overhead over this distance. The big birds flew in the “V” layer, while the small birds came and went in and out in aerial dances.
“It doesn't matter if Muang International Airport is near the sanctuary,” Ju said. “The truth is, there are a lot of birds that live there.”
According to South Korea's Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, the decision on whether the area is a sanctuary will be with the mayor or governor. According to the Ministry of the Environment, there are around 400 of these protected areas nationwide.
Experts say no matter how many preventive efforts are made, bird strikes cannot be completely eliminated. “The obvious thing is not to build an airport with lots of birds,” said Keith McKee, an American aviation expert and safety consultant based in Ocala, Florida.
Other ways that can be deployed to stop birds include using drones to disperse nearby flocks on the runway using brightly colored paint, Mackey said.
Muang's airport has been closed since the crash on December 29th, but medical and training flights there have been reboots. The airport, which originally planned to resume commercial flights on April 18, recently announced it would be closed until July.
South Korea has ambitious plans to build 10 airports over the coming decades in response to booming regional demand for increased international travel. Some are along the West Coast. One is particularly concerning for conservationists. At Saemangeum about 65 miles north of Muan.
The proposed airport, scheduled to open in 2029, is within four miles of Socheon Tidal Flat, a UNESCO heritage site, home to dozens of nationally protected wildlife species, including birds, according to Kim Nahee, an activist protesting the construction of the new airport.
Officials in the North Jeolla province of Northern Jeolla, where Saemangeum is located, said “there was no infrastructure that disrupts the flight path of birds.”
“They shouldn't have built Muang International Airport they did,” Kim said. “This will never happen again.”
