After the fatal plane crash in South Korea, the design of the airport’s runway was criticized
Aviation safety experts on Tuesday questioned the placement of an airport embankment that a South Korean passenger jet crashed into after it skidded off the runway, resulting in an earthquake the deadliest domestic air crash.
All 175 passengers and four of six crew members were killed on Sunday when Jeju Air flight 089590.KS landed on its belly at Muan International Airport, crashed into a sand and concrete embankment and disintegrated into a fireball. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
What prompted the pilot to attempt to land after declaring an emergency is still under investigation.
But comments in the airport’s operations manual, transferred in early 2024, said the embankment was too close to the end of the runway and recommended that the location of the equipment be reviewed during the planned expansion.
A transport ministry official said on Tuesday that authorities would have to verify the document before answering questions.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, ordered emergency safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 planes operated by the country’s airlines after the Jeju Air crash killed almost all passengers.
Experts criticized the position of the embankment that held the navigation equipment.
“Unfortunately, that thing was the reason they all died, because they literally hit the concrete structure,” Capt. Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told Reuters.
“It shouldn’t have been there.”
The police are still working on the identification of the victims
Meanwhile, police worked to identify the victims as impatience grew among families gathered at the airport as they waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be released.
The national police agency said it was making every effort to speed up the identification of the five still-unknown bodies, assigning more staff and fast DNA analyzers.
Acting President of South Korea Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an extraordinary security inspection of all air traffic in the country as investigators tried to find out what caused the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
The state Department of Transportation said the black box recorder found at the crash site was missing key parts and that authorities were considering how to retrieve its data.
Inspections of all 101 B737-800 aircraft used by South Korean airlines were to be completed by January 3, while the airport will remain closed until January 7, the ministry said.
Representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration and plane manufacturer Boeing have joined the investigative body and plan to meet in Muan on Tuesday.
The NTSB said in a statement that it had sent three investigators to South Korea to assist in the investigation, including people with expertise in operational factors and airworthiness.
“If we need more experts, we will send them in,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview.
Questions about the embankment, bird strikes
Investigators are looking into bird strikes, whether any of the plane’s control systems were disabled and the pilots’ apparent rush to try to land soon after the danger was declared as possible factors in the crash, fire and transportation officials said.
Officials also faced sharp questions about design features at the airport, particularly a large dirt and concrete embankment near the end of the runway used to support navigation equipment.
The plane crashed into an embankment at high speed and erupted into a fireball. Bodies and parts of bodies were thrown into the surrounding fields, and most of the aircraft disintegrated in flames.
South Korean officials say the causeway was built to standards and that similar elements exist at other airports, including in the United States and Europe.
But many experts said its proximity to the end of the runway defied best practice and likely made the crash far more deadly than it otherwise would have been.
John Cox, chief executive of aviation consultancy Safety Operating Systems and a former 737 pilot, said the runway design was “absolutely” inconsistent with best industry practice, which rules out any hard structure such as a berm within at least 300 meters of the end of the runway.
The airport’s concrete harvest appears to be less than half that distance from the end of the roadway, according to a Reuters analysis of satellite images.
South Korean officials said the embankment is about 250 meters from the end of the runway itself, although a paved platform extends beyond that.
In video footage of the crash, the plane appeared to be slowing down and in control as it went off the runway, Cox said.
“When it hits that dam it turns into a tragedy.”
New Year’s Eve celebrations canceled across the country
Both floors of Muan Airport’s main building were still full of grieving relatives on Tuesday evening as many waited for the altar to be opened to pay their respects to the deceased. Others rested in hundreds of tents erected at the airport. Religious, social and volunteer groups were busy providing food and drink.
Relatives took turns bowing in front of a makeshift altar, lined with chrysanthemums and pictures of the deceased, and some sobbed loudly after paying their respects.
As the nation mourns the plane crash, New Year celebrations have been canceled across the country.
Broadcasters KBS, MBS and SBS have canceled their annual awards shows or countdown festivals. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced that its annual bell performance scheduled for Tuesday will be quiet, with no performances but a moment of silence.
