The investigation into the Jeju Air airplane crash that killed 179 at Muan Worldwide Airport in South Korea is underway. A malfunction within the touchdown gear, which a chicken strike could have brought on, may have led to the airplane’s stomach touchdown, preliminary findings present. Specialists have mentioned that a number of components may have resulted within the airplane crash, amongst that are design flaws on the airport.
Brief runway?
Questions have been raised over the size of the runway on the airport. Based on the official web site, the runway is 2,800 m lengthy. That is significantly shorter than runways at worldwide air hubs. As an illustration, Seoul’s major Incheon Worldwide Airport has runways measuring 3,750 m. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Worldwide Airport has runways starting from 2,816 m to 4,400 m in size.
Whereas a Boeing 737-800 can land at a 2,800-m runway, an extended distance will be helpful in case of emergencies. Furthermore, with building work underway at Muan airport to increase the runway to over 3,000 m, the usable size of the runway was additional diminished, based on The Chosun Every day newspaper.
Concrete wall
Specialists have additionally questioned the position of the concrete construction on the finish of the runway, which the Jeju Air airplane crashed into. The concrete wall homes a set of antennas that assist information plane throughout touchdown. Officers are assessing if it ought to have been made with lighter supplies that may break extra simply upon influence.
A video captured the moments earlier than a airplane with 181 individuals on board crashed on touchdown in an airport in South Korea. All however two individuals are feared lifeless. pic.twitter.com/UkAooBqQAr
— DW Information (@dwnews) December 30, 2024
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in a press briefing dominated out the size of the runway as a purpose for the crash. The ministry said that the runway has been utilized by each home and worldwide flights prior to now. “It’s unlikely that the runway’s size brought on the accident,” it mentioned.
The ministry added that the “airport is designed based on normal aviation security pointers, even when the wall could seem nearer than it really is”.
Liable to chicken strikes
Muan airport is vulnerable to chicken strikes as it’s surrounded by muddy tidal flats that kind resting locations for migratory birds. Based on native media reviews, an environmental influence evaluation report in 2020 flagged that the encircling Hyeongyeong-myeon and Unnam-myeon areas, coastal zones in Muan and Mokpo, and the Muan reservoir are dwelling to vital migratory chicken populations. Most airports in South Korea fall alongside migratory routes, making them weak to chicken strikes.
Collisions with birds are fairly frequent for flights, particularly throughout touchdown and takeoff. Nevertheless, some chicken strikes will be extra harmful than others. If the engine has sucked within the chicken it will probably trigger malfunction.
Muan airport has the very best price of chicken strikes among the many 14 airports in South Korea, Chosun Biz reported. Because the airport has restricted operations, absolutely the variety of chicken strikes is low—10 between 2019 and August this 12 months. Nevertheless, relative to the variety of flights, the estimated prevalence price is 0.09 per cent. That is increased than the chicken strike price at different main airports of the nation reminiscent of Gimpo (0.018 per cent) or Jeju (0.013 per cent).
The implementation of preventative methods like sound cannons, lasers, and warning lights at Muan airport has been delayed, native media reported.
Operational readiness
The investigation can be specializing in the airport’s lack of expertise in dealing with common worldwide flights. Based on The Korea Occasions, Muan airport began worldwide flight providers solely this December, after a 17-year hiatus.
Jeju Air’s Bangkok-Muan route had been operational for under 21 days earlier than the crash.
A former pilot cited by The Chosun Every day has questioned the effectivity of the air site visitors controller because the “state of affairs escalated quickly” after the pilot issued a mayday and chicken strike warning.
The 2 black packing containers that report the flight information and the cockpit voice have been recovered as authorities attempt to decide the precise explanation for the crash. The December 29 crash has been billed because the deadliest in South Korea’s aviation historical past.
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