S. Korea to overhaul some airports after Jeju Air crash

South Korean authorities said on Wednesday
they will change the concrete barriers used for navigation at some airports
across the country after the Jeju Air crash that left 179 people dead.

The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan in the southwest on
December 29 carrying 181 passengers and crew when it belly-landed at Muan
airport and exploded in a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.

It was the worst-ever aviation disaster on South Korean soil.

South Korean and US investigators are still probing the cause of the crash,
which prompted national mourning with memorials set up across the country.

Attention has focused on several possible causes but questions have been
raised about why the concrete barricade, known as a localiser and used to
help planes navigate their landings, was at the end of the runway.

The Ministry of Land said in a statement that “a special safety inspection
revealed that improvements are needed for localisers at seven airports around
the country”.

These include Muan and Jeju International Airport — a popular tourist
hotspot and the country’s second-largest airport, after Incheon which serves
the capital Seoul.

The measures include “relocating the foundations underground and replacing
them with lightweight steel structures”.

Muan International Airport’s existing concrete mounds will be removed
entirely and the localiser will be “reinstalled using breakable structures”.

“This measure prioritises actions requiring immediate attention,” said
Transport Minister Park Sang-woo.

“We plan to establish measures for bird strike prevention improvement and an
aviation safety innovation plan through further investigations and reviews,”
he said.

At the moment of the accident, the pilot warned of a bird strike before
pulling out of a first landing attempt. The plane crashed on its second
attempt when the landing gear did not emerge.

Feathers were found in both engines, according to South Korean media reports,
with a bird strike being examined as one possible cause.

According to the ministry, a comprehensive survey of bird-attracting
facilities around airports began on Monday as part of the “bird strike
prevention improvement plan”.

The investigation was further clouded when the transport ministry said the
black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the
crashed flight stopped recording four minutes before the disaster.

The land ministry said on Saturday that Muan airport’s closure period had
been extended three more months until April 18. (BSS/AFP)