South Korea’s deadliest plane crash at Muan International Airport last Sunday killed all the passengers onboard the aircraft and all but two Jeju Air crew members.
While all the victims have been identified, investigations into the exact cause of the incident are still ongoing.
We have our correspondent Park Kun-woo joining me in the studio to tell us more.
Welcome, Kun-woo.
Thanks for having me.
Can you first walk us through what happened?
Yes, the Jeju Air flight that departed from Bangkok on Sunday was scheduled to land at Muan International Airport on the same day.
It crashed while landing becoming the deadliest plane crash in South Korea’s aviation history.
The accident claimed the lives of 1-hundred-79 people out of the 1-hundred-81 on board, with only two flight attendants surviving.
All the victims were Koreans except for two Thai nationals.
Most of them were from Gwangju and Jeollanam-do Province.
Many of the victims are believed to have been returning from trips to Bangkok during the Christmas holidays.
As for the sequence of events leading to the accident, the flight crew received a bird strike hazard warning from the airport’s control tower during its first landing attempt.
Shortly after, the pilot sent a “mayday” call and initiated a go-around instead of landing.
After making a 180-degree turn, the aircraft entered the runway from the opposite end without its landing gear lowered.
Instead of landing at the beginning of the runway, the aircraft made contact further along the runway at high speed, using the “gear up” or “belly landing” method.
Then the aircraft skidded along the runway, collided with a concrete wall, and exploded into flames.
And all the victims have been identified, and funerals services also took place, right?
All 179 victims were identified as of Wednesday morning.
The first funeral for one of the victims began in Gwangju on Tuesday.
As of Thursday, at least 34 bodies were returned to their families for funerals, with additional victims expected to return in the coming days.
Bereaved families have the option of either receiving the bodies at funeral homes or leaving them at temporary morgues while they wait for the joint funerals to take place.
Also on Thursday, personal belongings began being returned to the families of victims with around 200 items returned.
It wasn’t just the bereaved families.
The entire nation mourned the victims, in fact, the national mourning period was issued.
There are around 100 memorial altars established across the country including in Gwangju City where the majority of the passengers who lost their lives in the airplane crash were from.
A joint memorial altar was set up at the Muan International Airport on Tuesday, following requests from bereaved families.
Over 200-thousand mourners across all age groups headed to joint memorial altars, while at least 20 thousand went to memorial altars at the Muan Sports Complex as of Friday.
All of the memorial altars remained open until Saturday, the last day of the national mourning period.
Here’s what some of the mourners in Muan had to say.
“I couldn’t sleep at all yesterday because I was so sad. That’s why I came here very early this morning. I canceled all my year-end and New Year’s gatherings to welcome the New Year calmly.”
“We were so heartbroken. My daughter even came from New Zealand.”
“My heart aches so much when I think of the bereaved families, so I came here with my fellow believers. Right now, I think the most important thing is to simply be together and cry together.”
Along with the people mourning at the site, some even donated food and money to support the bereaved families.
Year-end and New Year’s events were canceled or scaled down.
For example, the annual Bosingak Pavillion’s New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony took place at a smaller scale with all related performances canceled.
Several local festivals and music concerts have also been postponed.
What about the investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident?
I heard it could take months.
That’s true.
While some theories remain about the actual cause of both the crash and the high death toll, including a bird strike and the concrete wall positioned toward the end of the runway, the Transport Ministry said it had completed the conversion of the cockpit voice recorder’s data into an audio file on Thursday morning.
The audio file, which is around 2 hours long, is expected to include conversations between crew members, communication with the control tower, cockpit warning alerts and clues for investigators.
However, the flight data recorder, damaged in the crash, will be analyzed by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board soon but it is unclear how long this process will take.
And I’m sure the bereaved family members need ultimate support psychological, financial
How is the government helping them?
First of all, the Transport Ministry has been conducting a special inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the same model as the one that crashed, in service in South Korea since Monday.
It also announced plans to investigate aviation safety facilities, including localizers, at all domestic airports by next week.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok also pledged maximum support for the bereaved families on Thursday, while instructing related organizations to assist them as well.
“Related organizations should ensure that the bereaved families don’t face difficulties during funeral procedures. The government will continue to fully support the bereaved families even after such procedures are over.”
He also said legal action will be taken to protect the honor of the victims and their families due to posts on social media.
Meanwhile, the government also plans to offer emergency living expenses, delay or reduce tax payments and provide psychological counseling to the affected families.
Alright Kun-woo, thanks for all of that. I appreciate it.
Always a pleasure.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279607
Arirang TV(public institution's name)'s public work is used according to KOGL