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By Hyunhee Shin and Joyce Lee
SEOUL/MUAN COUNTY, South Korea (Reuters) – Aviation safety experts on Tuesday questioned an airport landing site after a South Korean passenger jet skidded off the runway after skidding off the runway, causing the country’s deadliest domestic air disaster.
On Sunday, a Jeju Airlines plane landed at Hodu Muan International Airport and crashed into a sand and concrete enclosure in a fireball, killing all 175 passengers and four of the six crew members.
What happened after the pilot declared an emergency is still under investigation.
But comments on the airport’s operational manual, which was uploaded in early 2024, suggested the ramp was too close to the airport and the location of the equipment should be considered during a planned expansion.
A Transport Ministry official said on Tuesday that officials would have to verify the document before answering questions.
Experts have criticized the position of the eclipse that contains the navigation equipment.
“Unfortunately, that’s the reason everyone was killed because they literally hit a concrete structure. It shouldn’t have been there,” Capt. Ross Amer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the police were impatient among the families gathered at the airport to try to find out the identity of the victims.
The National Police Agency has revealed that it is working hard to identify the five bodies that have yet to be identified, assigning more experts and rapid DNA analysis.
A key link to the Boeing (NYSE: ) 737-800 “black box” flight data recorder from the crash site was lost and authorities were evaluating how to retrieve the data, but data from the cockpit voice recorder was recovered, and transmission began. Ministry said.
Inspections of all 101 B737-800s by South Korean Airlines will be completed by January 3, although the airport will remain closed until January 7, it added in a statement.
Employees of 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 inspection of the country’s entire airline operation.
After the declaration of emergency, he tried to land in Muan
Investigators are looking into possible reasons such as bird strikes and disabled control systems on the plane as it attempted to land shortly after the emergency was declared.
Transport Ministry officials say most South Korean airports are built in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization rules that recommend a runway-end safety distance of 240 meters (262 yards).
However, local law allows adjustments in areas that do not have a “significant impact” on the institution’s performance.
Kim Hong-rak, executive director of airport and air navigation facilities policy, said: “We will investigate whether there are any conflicts in our own regulations and examine the airport’s security level.”
Muan International Airport’s operations manual says the navigation devices, or localizers, are installed near the end of the runway, or about 199 meters (218 yards) from the crash site.
A document prepared by the Korea Airports Corporation and uploaded to its website said the airport authority should “evaluate whether to maintain additional clearances in phase two of Muan International Airport’s expansion.”
South Korean officials previously said the structure was about 250 meters (273 yards) from the end of the plane, although a paved surface extended beyond that.
The runway design doesn’t meet industry best practices, said John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems and a former 737 pilot, who ultimately prohibits a solid structure such as a berm at least 300 meters (330 yards) away. The airport.
The video shows the plane slowing down and appearing to take control as it exits the runway, Cox said.
“When you hit this berm, that’s when it turns into a tragedy.”
The floors of Mueang Airport’s main building were still full of grieving relatives on Tuesday evening as many waited for the altar to be opened. Others rested in the hundreds of tents set up at the airport. Religious, social welfare and volunteer groups are busy providing food and drink.
Relatives, some weeping loudly, took turns prostrating themselves before the altar, covered with chrysanthemums and pictures of the dead.
New Year’s Day has been canceled across South Korea as the public mourns.
