A civil aviation commentator, Zhang Zhonglin, told reporters that the engine smoking is a clear indication of a bird strike; however, based on his reasoning, the bird strike was not the direct cause of the accident. The direct cause should be that the aircraft did not lower its landing gear for a direct landing, causing the aircraft to be unable to decelerate, resulting in it leaving the runway and crashing. Bird strikes usually do not prevent the landing gear from being lowered. Zhang Zhonglin stated that the incident involving Jeju Air flight 7C2216 directly exploded upon hitting the barrier, igniting fuel, and creating a fierce fire, making rescue extremely difficult, resulting in serious casualties with only 2 survivors. He also mentioned another detail. The runway at Uulsan Airport is currently under maintenance, and the runway end safety area (EMAS), made of foam concrete, is non-functional. He explained that the purpose of the EMAS on the airport runway is to slow down aircraft that leave the runway to prevent serious accidents. Normally, an aircraft that has left the runway would sink into it. However, he believes this may only be a relatively minor factor in this incident, with the main factors likely still related to improper crew operation. (Peking Evening News)