On Sunday, several aviation experts questioned why damage to the engine would have prevented the landing gear from lowering or why the ‘wall’ containing the instrument landing system was placed so close to the start of the runway.
As a condition of the deal for Qatar to purchase 25 per cent of Virgin, the domestic carrier pledged to drop its longstanding codeshare with Etihad. The move is likely to hugely damage the UAE carrier, given the tie-up was a major incentive to book.
The aircraft, operated by low-cost carrier Jeju, is thought to have been hit by a bird strike that damaged its landing gear and forced the crew to attempt a “crash landing”.