Sunday, February 16, 2025 | Sha'ban 16, 1446 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
22°C / 22°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

South Korea to release initial Jeju Air crash report by Monday

The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport
The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport
minus
plus

South Korea will release by Monday a preliminary report on the Dec. 29 Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people, the deadliest air disaster on the nation's soil, the transport ministry said on Saturday.


The report will be sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization as well as the United States, France, and Thailand, the ministry said in a statement.


One particular subject of investigations into the crash, which involved a Boeing 737-800, is a concrete wall at the Muan airport that contained an antenna array used to guide planes during landing. Jeju Air’s Flight 7C2216 skidded into the wall at high speed and exploded, killing all but two of the plane’s passengers and crew.


It was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil and the deadliest worldwide since that of Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 when all 189 people onboard died.


Korea Airports Corp.’s safety standards have come into question, with critics arguing that if the antenna array had been installed on a more easily breakable mount, as in many other airports, the disaster might have been less severe.


Government officials have said that the structure was built under safety regulations. However, an inspection by the transportation ministry revealed that seven of the nation’s airports, including the one in Muan, did not meet safety standards and needed to upgrade their runway facilities.


On Wednesday, the transportation ministry said it would replace the existing concrete structure in Muan with one that is more easy to break. The ministry also said that plans were underway to upgrade localizers at airports to be made of lighter, steel structures and extend safety zones at the end of some runways to a minimum of almost 790 feet. The Muan runway is due to remain closed until mid-April.


A team of aviation officials from South Korea, the United States, and Boeing are investigating the accident. Their efforts have already been hindered by the failure of a flight recorder that stopped working minutes before the crash.


The police are conducting a separate investigation and have barred Jeju Air’s chief executive from leaving the country.


The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation Rail Accident Investigation Committee held a briefing for the families of the victims at Muan International Airport on the afternoon of the 25th to explain the progress of the investigation and plans.


The committee disclosed the details of the situation of the accident aircraft before and after the interruption of the black box recording. The recording of the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was interrupted 4 minutes and 7 seconds before the aircraft struck the facility.


The aircraft first communicated with the airport control tower for landing approach at 8:54:43 a.m. on the 29th of last month. The control tower authorized landing on runway 01. Three minutes and 7 seconds later, at 8:57:50 a.m., the control tower issued a 'bird activity (collision) warning' to the aircraft.


At 8:58:11 a.m., the captain and co-pilot discussed the presence of birds below the aircraft. The recording of the FDR and CVR simultaneously stopped at 8:58:50 a.m., 39 seconds later. At that time, the accident aircraft was flying at a speed of 161 knots (approximately 298 km/h) at a low altitude of 498 feet (approximately 151 m).


Then, at 8:58:56 a.m., the pilot declared a mayday due to the bird strike while climbing. This was inferred by the committee through synchronization with tower records since there was no recording left. It was investigated that there were no significant weather changes at the time.


The aircraft flew for about 4 minutes over the left side of the runway before making a right turn to approach runway 19 for landing. After that, it traveled down the runway without the landing gear deployed and struck a navigational facility after exceeding the runway at 9:02:57 a.m.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon