Aside from what looks to be a plane malfunction, the country is seeking answers to what caused so many deaths.
While some are blaming the runway and the concrete wall at the airport, others warn against drawing conclusions too quickly.
Our Lee Shi-hoo reports.
A bird strike, and a failure of the plane’s landing gear to deploy are among the many contributory factors being considered.
While grieved families and the public demand answers on what caused the historically deadliest aviation disaster on South Korean soil, experts remind us that plane crashes typically have multiple causes, some of which may not be immediately clear.
What’s needed right now a proper investigation to narrow down the answer.
“At the global level, there is an accepted standard, well-defined and well-proven procedure to investigate accidents. It’s very detailed, very effective. But right now we’re on page four. We will know when we reach page 30. So we will have an answer.”
There is speculation that the damage may have been minimized if not for a safety structure at the end of the runway being close to the runway.
From what we’ve seen in videos capturing the moment of the crash, the plane failed to lower its landing gear when contacting the runway.
It struck a safety system called a localizer, and then crashed into a wall before exploding in flames.
Officials at Muan International Airport and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that the localizer and the 2-meter-high concrete wall were built 250 meters from the runway.
The transport ministry also confirmed the structures are built differently across the country based on airport layouts, and that the one in Muan did not violate the country’s airport safety regulations.
“The localizer is an aviation safety structure that provides horizontal guidance to pilots during an approach to land. Where these are built and their forms depend on the airport. Some are made from concrete, some are piled. There is no set standard form for the structure.”
This, while some point to the environment ministry’s 2020 assessment which highlighted the risks of birdstrike at the airport, “located close to the habitat for migratory birds” and suggested measures for risk reduction.
Following the assessment, Muan airport has been undergoing a four-year construction project to lengthen its runway, due for completion by 2025.
But the transport ministry earlier said the length of the runway was likely “not the cause” of the disaster.
Lee Shi-hoo, Arirang News.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279471
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