By Hyonhee Shin and Joyce Lee
SEOUL/MUAN COUNTY, SOUTH KOREA (Reuters) – Aviation safety experts on Tuesday questioned the location of the airport where a South Korean passenger jet crashed after skidding off the end of a runway, leading to the country’s worst disaster ever.
All 175 passengers and four of six crew members died on Sunday when a Jeju Air plane landed upside down at Muan International Airport, hit a sand and concrete embankment and burst into flames.
What made the pilot try to land the car after declaring an emergency is still under investigation.
But comments in the airport’s workbook, which was uploaded in early 2024, said the wall was too close to the end of the runway and recommended that the equipment area be reviewed during the planned expansion.
A Transport Department official said on Tuesday that authorities would need to look at the document before answering questions.
Experts have criticized the setting up of a curb that had navigation equipment.
“Unfortunately, that was the reason everyone was killed, because they hit the concrete,” Captain Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told Reuters. “You shouldn’t have been there.”
Meanwhile, the police were working to identify the victims while impatience grew among the families gathered at the airport as they waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be removed.
The National Police Agency said it was doing everything possible to speed up the identification of the five unidentified bodies, with additional staff and DNA analysts being assigned immediately.
The Boeing (NYSE: ) 737-800’s flight data recorder “black box” found at the crash site was missing a key connector and authorities were reviewing how to extract its data, but data recovery from the cockpit voice recorder has begun, the ministry said.
Tests for all 101 B737-800s operated by South Korean airlines will wrap up in Jan. 3, although the airport will remain closed until Jan. 7, added the statement.
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration, and aircraft manufacturer Boeing joined the investigation.
On Monday, Acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety review of all domestic airline operations.
RESIDENCE TRIED IN MUAN AFTER EMERGENCY DECLARATION
Investigators are looking into possible causes such as bird strikes and in-flight disability control systems for pilots to rush to land quickly after declaring an emergency.
Transport Ministry officials said most South Korean airports are built based on International Civil Aviation Organization regulations that recommend a runway safety distance of 240 meters (262 yards).
However, local law allows for distance adjustments that do not “significantly affect” the operation of the facility.
“We will check if there are any conflicts in our rules, and then review our airport security standards,” Kim Hong-rak, director general of the aviation and aviation industry policy, told the forum.
Muan International Airport’s Operations Manual said navigation equipment, or localisers, were installed very close to the end of the runway, or just 199 meters (218 yards) from the crash site.
The document, prepared by Korea Airports Corp and uploaded on its website, said the airport authorities should “review obtaining additional distance during the second phase of expansion of Muan International Airport”.
South Korean officials have said the structure was about 250 meters (273 yards) from the end of the runway itself, although the tarmac extends there.
The runway design did not meet industry best practices, however, said John Cox, chief operating officer of Safety Operating Systems and a 737 pilot, adding that they prevented any solid structure such as a berm at least 300 meters (330 yards) from the end. of the runway.
The video shows the plane appear to be slowing down and out of control as it exits the runway, Cox said.
“When it hits that berm that’s when it becomes a disaster.”
Both floors of the main building of the Muan Airport were still full of relatives of the deceased on Tuesday evening as many waited for the altar to be opened to pay their respects. Others are resting in hundreds of tents set up at the airport. Religious, social and volunteer groups were busy providing food and drinks.
Relatives, some weeping profusely, took turns bowing in front of a makeshift altar, filled with chrysanthemums and images of the dead.
As the nation grieved, New Year’s Eve celebrations were canceled across South Korea.
