After deadly South Korean plane crash, airport's runway design criticized
South Korean police have expedited the identification of crash victims
Air safety experts on Tuesday questioned the placement of an airport embankment into which a South Korean passenger jet slammed after skidding past the end of the runway, resulting in the country's deadliest domestic air disaster.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed on Sunday when the Jeju Air 089590.KS plane belly-landed at Muan International Airport, plowed into the sand-and-concrete embankment and burst into a fireball. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
What caused the pilot to attempt the landing after declaring an emergency was still under investigation.
But comments in the airport's operating manual, uploaded early in 2024, said the embankment was too close to the end of the runway and recommended that the location of the equipment be reviewed during a planned expansion.
A transport ministry official said on Tuesday authorities would need to check the document before replying to questions.
Experts criticized the positioning of the embankment, which held navigation equipment.
"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.
"It shouldn't have been there."
Police still working to ID victims
Meanwhile, police worked to identify victims while impatience rose 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 all-out efforts to speed up identification of the five bodies still unknown, allocating more personnel and rapid DNA analyzers.
South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operation as investigators sought to find out what caused the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
The country's Transportation Ministry said the black box flight recorder recovered from the crash site was missing key pieces and authorities were reviewing how to extract its data.
Inspections of all 101 B737-800s operated by South Korean airlines were scheduled to be completed by Jan. 3, while the airport will remain closed until Jan. 7, the ministry said.
Representatives from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration, and aircraft manufacturer Boeing have joined the investigative body and plan to meet in Muan on Tuesday.
The NTSB said in a statement it sent three investigators to South Korea to assist the investigation, including people with specialties in operational factors and airworthiness.
"If we need more specialists we will send them," NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview.
Questions about embankment, bird strikes
Investigators are examining bird strikes, whether any of the aircraft's control systems were disabled, and the apparent rush by the pilots to attempt a landing soon after declaring an emergency as possible factors in the crash, fire and transportation officials have said.
Officials have also faced pointed 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 slammed into the embankment at high speed and erupted into a fireball. Bodies and body parts were thrown into surrounding fields and most of the aircraft disintegrated in flames.
South Korean officials say the embankment was built according to standards, and that there are similar features at other airports including in the United States and Europe.
But many experts said its proximity to the end of the runway defied best practices and likely made the crash far more deadly than it may have been otherwise.
John Cox, CEO of aviation consulting firm Safety Operating Systems and a former 737 pilot, said the runway design "absolutely" did not meet industry best practices, which preclude any hard structure like a berm within at least 300 metres of a runway's end.
The airport's concrete berm appears to be less than half that distance from the end of the pavement, according to an analysis of satellite images by Reuters.
South Korean officials have said the embankment is about 250 metres from the end of the runway itself, though a paved apron extends past that.
In video footage of the crash, the plane appeared to be slowing down and in control when it went off the runway, Cox said.
"When it hits that berm is when it turns into tragedy."
NYE celebrations across country cancelled
Both floors of Muan airport's main building were still packed with bereaved relatives on Tuesday evening as many waited for the opening of an altar to pay their respects to the deceased. Others rested in hundreds of tents erected in the airport. Religious, social welfare and volunteer groups were busy supplying food and drink.
Relatives took turns to bow in front of the makeshift altar, lined with chrysanthemums and pictures of the deceased, with some sobbing loudly after paying their respects.
With the nation grieving over the flight disaster, New Year's Eve celebrations across the country were cancelled.
Broadcasters KBS, MBS and SBS cancelled their annual award ceremonies or countdown festivals. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its annual bell-ringing show scheduled for Tuesday would be a quiet one without performances but with a moment of silence.