Air safety expert shares major error involved in tragic plane crash that saw 179 killed

An air safety expert has suggested that 'everybody' onboard the tragic Jeju Air crash 'would have been alive' if it wasn't for a major error.

The death toll from the devastating plane crash in South Korea currently stands at 179, with only two crew members managing to make it out of the fireball on Sunday (29 December) morning local time.

The Boeing 737-800 jet had departed from Bangkok, Thailand, and crashed following an emergency landing at an airport in the town of Muan.

Footage of the incident appeared to show how the plane skidded across the runway without having deployed its landing gear, before it collided with a concrete wall and exploded.

Only the aircraft's tail section was recognisable following the incident, with much of the plane being destroyed by the crash.

Local news outlets have reported that one of the passengers sent a text message to a family member saying a bird was 'stuck in the wing' of the plane, according to the BBC.

An investigation into the crash then confirmed that the plane had been attempting to land before it was given a bird strike warning from air traffic control.

179 have died in the Jeju Air disaster (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jeju Air flight then issued a mayday warning and it was given permission to land at the airport.

The plane's black box has been recovered from the site of the crash, meaning investigators will be able to learn what happened on the plane in the final moments.

South Korea's government has declared a seven day period of mourning following the disaster.

As the focus now falls on what could have been done to prevent the crash, air safety experts have been weighing in.

David Learmount, who is the operations and safety editor of Flight International magazine and an aviation boffin, explained that the concrete wall that the plane smashed into was the 'defining moment' of the tragedy.

He told Sky News that he believes the passengers and crew who perished would have had a stab at survival after the plane touched down, despite it moving at such a high speed.

However, the concrete wall sealed the fate of those on board, according to Learmount.

Expert David Learmount believes more would have survived if it wasn't for the concrete wall (Sky News)

"Not only is there no justification [for the wall to be there], I think it's verging on criminal to have it there," he explained.

"That kind of structure should not be there. That is awful. That is unbelievably awful.

"He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground."

The concrete wall at the South Korean airport was part of a guidance system at the end of the runway which was supposed to help pilots land when visibility is poor or at night.

"To have a hard object about 200m or less into the overrun, I've never seen anything like this anywhere ever before," Learmount continued.

He reckons that if the Boeing 737-800 had not pummelled into the wall, it would have instead smashed through a perimeter fence and across a road before coming to a stop in a nearby field.

"There was plenty of space for the aircraft to have slowed down, come to a halt," Learmount added.

The Boeing 737-800 burst into flames after the collision (X)

"And I think everybody would have been alive...the pilots might have suffered some damage going through the security fence or something like that," he said.

"But I even suspect they might have survived."

Fellow aviation expert Sally Gethin also told the publication that she believes the wall played a key part in the huge death toll.

However, she wasn't as optimistic as Learmount about what the outcome would have been otherwise.

Gethin told Sky News that the jet 'seemed to be maintaining speed, so even if there had been more space at the end of the runway, it could have possibly ended up being catastrophic'.

South Korea's deputy transport minister, Joo Jong-wan, insisted that walls at the end of the runway were built to industry standards.

At most airports, the instrument landing systems are placed on collapsible structures.