South Korea: Embankment in focus in Jeju Air crash probe
December 31, 2024
South Korea ramped up investigations into the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport on Sunday that killed everyone on board save for two crew members.
The plane attempted an emergency "belly-landing," touching down without landing gear, soon after issuing a distress call. It skidded off the end of the runway and burst into flames on contact with an embankment made of dirt and concrete fairly soon after the runway's end.
A South Korean Transport Ministry official said it was still too soon to comment on a document, the airport's 2024 operating manual, that appeared to make reference to the embankment and recommend it be moved to a safer distance in an upcoming expansion at the airport.
Officials were also still working to identify five of the victims, as families gathered at the airport calling for their remains' release to allow funerals.
US investigators join fact-finding mission
The Transport Ministry also said eight US investigators — one from the Federal Aviation Administration, three from the National Transportation Safety Board, and four from Boeing — had joined the team on site. The plane that crashed was a Boeing 737-800.
The government announced precautionary checks on the roughly 100 other such planes in the country, expected to be complete by January 3.
Both parts of the so-called "black box" have been recovered. But the ministry said the often most useful cockpit data recorder had sustained damage, and authorities were reviewing how to extract its general flight data.
Retreival of data from the cockpit voice recorder, which logs audio in the cockpit, had begun.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operation on Monday.
Jeju Air's President Kim E-bae told reporters Tuesday that his company would add more maintenance workers and reduce flight operations by 10-15% until March as part of efforts to enhance safety operations.
Hydraulic issue suspected, embankment sliding into spotlight
John Hansman, an aviation expert at MIT, said the crash was most likely the result of a problem with the plane's hydraulics and possibly also its control systems.
He said that would be consistent with the landing gear and wing flaps not being deployed "and might indicate a control issue which would explain the rush to get on the ground."
Investigators have also said the pilots received a warning during the flight of a potential bird strike.
Other analysts have said the passengers and crew might have fared better in the already tumultuous landing without the concrete barrier that brought the plane to a halt.
"Unfortunately, that thing was the reason that everybody got killed, because they literally hit a concrete structure," Captain Ross Aimer, the chief executive of Aero Consulting Experts, told Reuters news agency. "It shouldn't have been there."
The embankment houses a set of antennas meant to aid safe landings. The airport's operations manuals said it was closer to the runway's end than international guidelines, around 199 meters (218 yards) from it. International rules suggest a 240-meter safety area.
National mourning through January 4, muted NYE celebrations
Both floors of Muan International Aiport were still packed with mourners and people paying tribute on Tuesday.
Relatives bowed in front of a makeshift altar lined with chrysanthemums and pictures of the deceased.
Many New Year's Eve celebrations across the country were canceled as the country mourned its worst air crash in decades. The government declared a week of national mourning until January 4.
msh/sms (AP, Reuters)