Experts reveal the ‘virtually legal’ error that ‘brought on so many to die in fiery South Korea airplane crash’ – and the puzzling indicators about what triggered the catastrophe that killed 179
Experts say the construction of a concrete wall at the end of a runway was an ‘almost criminal’ error that led to the deaths of 179 people in a plane crash in South Korea.
The Jeju Air plane skidded off the runway in the town of Muan, 180 miles south of Seoul, slammed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames on Sunday after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy.
All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 were killed in one of South Korea’s worst aviation disasters, officials said.
Video of the plane’s approach show it hitting a bird, before it circled the runway and attempted to land with its flaps up. Experts believe this suggests the aircraft suffered hydraulic failure, which could have also prevented the landing gear from deploying.
Leading air safety expert David Learmount told Sky News that having a concrete wall at the end of the runway was ‘verging on criminal’ and said the collision with the wall was the ‘defining moment’ of the disaster.
He suggested that had the wall not been there, the plane would have instead hit a fence, slid over a road and likely stopped in a nearby field.
‘I think everybody would have been alive… the pilots might have suffered some damage going through the security fence or something like that. But I even suspect they might have survived,’ Mr Learmount said.
Airline pilots also chimed in, saying that the jet likely lost power on at least one engine and suffered a hydraulic failure after the plane was hit by a bird.
People stand as the wreckage of an aircraft lying on the ground after it went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport is pictured, in Muan, South Korea, December 30
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 is engulfed in flames as it slams into a wall following a crash after landing at Muan International Airport
Leading air safety expert David Learmount told Sky News that having a concrete wall (pictured in satellite image) at the end of the runway was ‘verging on criminal’ and said the collision with the wall was the ‘defining moment’ of the disaster
An unverified video grab reportedly of the Jeju Air plane shows a burst of fire coming out of the jet’s right engine supposedly showing the moment the bird struck
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok pays tribute to the victims of the 29 December Jeju Air plane crash
Relatives of passengers of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft gather at a make-shift shelter at Muan International Airport in Muan
Aviation expert David Learmount (pictured) suggested that had it not been for the concrete wall at the end of the runway at Muan International Airport, the tragedy may have been averted and the passengers saved
After abandoning a first landing attempt due to a loss of power, the pilots touched down on the runway at high speed on their second attempt – without extending the flaps and deploying speed brakes that would normally slow the plane down.
The thrust reverser, used to slow down the aircraft once on the ground, was only deployed on one engine.
While the flaps and landing ear are powered by the hydraulic system, they can be extended manually in an emergency.
Captain Denys Davydov, who flies a Boeing 737-800 for Ukraine International Airlines, told the Times: ‘It seems they had hydraulics to deploy the one reverser but no flaps or landing gear… As a pilot of the same plane, it’s very strange.’
Some experts said that a bird strike alone would not have crippled the landing gear.
Australian airline safety expert Geoffrey Dell said: ‘I’ve never seen a bird strike prevent the landing gear from being extended.’
Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas said that bird strikes ‘typically don’t cause the loss of an airplane by themselves’ and questioned why firefighters didn’t attend to the aircraft as it was landing on the runway.
He said: ‘Why weren’t they in attendance when the plane touched down? And why did the aircraft touch down so far down the runway? And why was there a brick wall at the end of the runway?’
But South Korea’s deputy transport minister, Joo Jong-wan, dismissed concerns about having the concrete wall after the end of the runway, saying that both ends of the runway have ‘safety zones with green buffer areas before reaching the outer wall’, the Independent reports.
Black smoke emits from Jeju Air flight 7C2216 as it veers off the runway
The Boeing 737-800 was seen engulfed in a huge ball of fire after it skidded off the end of the runway and crashed into a concrete wall
Workers operate at the site of an aircraft that crashed after it went off the runway at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30
Emergency workers inspect the wreckage of Jeju Air Flight 2216
He added that the airport was designed ‘according to standard aviation safety guidelines, even if the wall may appear closer than it actually is’.
However, aviation expert Sally Gethin told Sky News a bird strike could cause damage to the engine and the hydraulics to fail.
She said it was a ‘plausible explanation’ for causing a landing gear failure, adding that the pilots would have had to make ‘very split-second decisions’ in such a case.
Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Buckinghamshire New University, said the evidence suggested the plane had encountered a flock of birds ‘leading to suspected bird ingestion into the engines’.
This comes as devastated family members of the crash victims are demanding answers.
Jeon Je-young, whose daughter Mi-sook was one of 179 who died on board Jeju Airlines flight 2216, says he still cannot believe what happened.
‘When I saw the accident video, the plane seemed out of control,’ the 71-year-old father said. ‘The pilots probably had no choice but to do it. My daughter, who is only in her mid-40s, ended up like this. This is unbelievable.’
Jeon said the last time he saw his daughter was when she brought food and next year’s calendar to his house on December 21.
Firefighters work at the wreckage site of the Jeju Air plane in Muan on December 30
The wreckage of the plane is seen above, as firefighters comb through debris, on December 30
Jeon Je-young, whose daughter Mi-sook died onboard Jeju Airlines flight 2216 questioned why the aircraft crashed into a wall after skidding off a runway
Jeon shared his last emotional exchanges with his daughter on his mobile phone
Firefighters search tangled wreckage at Muan International Airport
An emergency worker looks at the wreckage of Saturday’s plane crash
Mi-sook had been on her way home after travelling with friends to Bangkok for the Christmas holiday. She is survived by her husband and teenage daughter.
Her father said: ‘She was almost home, so (she saw) no need to call the family (to leave any final message). She thought she was coming home.
‘By the time she took out her phone, the plane probably had crashed.’
The flight, arriving from the Thai capital with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was seen skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into navigation equipment and a wall in an explosion of flames and debris.
Only two people – both crew members – survived the tragedy and were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries after being pulled from the burning wreckage.
Authorities revealed the names of some of those killed in the crash, triggering grief and rage among the passengers’ families gathered in the airport’s arrival area.
Crime scene investigators collected DNA from families to run tests to identify the victims.
Mi-sook was identified by her fingerprints, and her family is looking for a funeral home near her town of Gwangju to transport her body there.
Family members of a victim of the Jeju Air plane crash grieve at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on December 29
Fire and smoke rising from the tail section of the aircraft. All passengers on board were declared dead, while two cabin crew members miraculously survived the tragedy
Firefighters use an excavator to lift burnt seats from the wreckage of the aircraft
A person rescued from the wreckage is wheeled on a stretcher from an ambulance to a medical facility
He said: ‘The water near the airport is not deep. There are softer fields than this cement runway. Why couldn’t the pilot land there instead?’
Fire officials reported that the impact of the crash had left the plane ‘almost completely destroyed’.
Yeom Dong-bu, a firefighter dispatched to the scene said: ‘Through collision twice and explosion, most of the passengers were thrown off the plane, though two crew members luckily survived at the tail end.’
A South Korean transport official earlier said that the plane had attempted to land but was told by the air traffic control to hold off after giving a bird strike warning.
The pilot called a Mayday two minutes later and was granted permission to land from the opposite direction.
Experts cautioned that air accidents are usually caused by multiple contributing factors and it can take months to piece together the sequence of events in and outside the plane.
Jeju Airlines chief executive Kim E-bae gave a deep bow with other senior company officials as he apologised to bereaved families and said he feels ‘full responsibility’ for the incident in a televised news conference.
Family members of a victim of the Jeju Air plane crash grieve at a temporary shelter at Muan International Airport
A firefighter and a dog work near the deadly crash site that killed all 175 passengers and four crew members
He added the company had not identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular checks and that he would wait for the results of government investigations into the cause of the incident.
A period of national mourning until January 4 was declared by South Korea‘s acting President Choi Sang-mok.
Under global aviation rules, South Korea will lead a civil investigation, involving the US National Transportation Safety Board as the aircraft was American-made and built.
