South Korea: Experts criticise runway design for failing to meet safety standards
SEOUL – As the investigation into the deadly crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 stretches into its third day, South Korean officials are investigating what role the localiser antenna, located at the end of the runway to help in landing, played in the crash, including the concrete embankment on which it was standing, transport ministry officials told a media briefing.
“Normally, on an airport with a runway at the end, you don’t have a wall,” said Christian Beckert, a flight safety expert and Lufthansa pilot based in Munich. “You may have an engineered material arresting system, which lets the airplane sink into the ground a little bit and brakes (it).”
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when a Jeju Air 089590.KS Boeing BA. N 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
“Unfortunately, that thing was the reason that everybody got killed, because they literally hit a concrete structure,” Captain Ross “Rusty” Aimer, the chief executive of Aero Consulting Experts, told Reuters.
Transport Ministry officials said most South Korean airports were built based on International Civil Aviation Organization rules that recommend a 240-m (262-yard) runway-end safety area.
However, a domestic law allows adjusting the location of some installations in a range that does not “significantly affect the performance of the facility.”
“But we’ll look into whether there are any conflicts in our own regulations, and conduct an additional review of our airport safety standards,” Kim Hong-rak, director general for airport and air navigation facilities policy, told a briefing.
Muan International Airport’s Airport Operations Manual said the navigation equipment, called “localisers,” was installed too near the end of the runway, or just 199 m (218 yards) from the crash site.
The document, prepared by Korea Airports Corp and uploaded on its website, said the airport authority should “review securing additional distance during phase two of Muan International Airport’s expansion.”
South Korean officials have previously said the structure was about 250 m (273 yards) from the end of the runway itself, though a paved apron extends past that.
The runway design “absolutely (did) not” meet industry best practices, however, said John Cox, chief executive of Safety Operating Systems and a former 737 pilot, adding that they preclude any hard structure like a berm within at least 300 m (330 yards) of the end of the runway.
Muan International Airport remains closed through Wednesday, but the rest of South Korea’s international and regional airports, including the main Incheon International Airport, were operating as scheduled.
The aviation insurance industry could be looking at a claim for about $15 million to $20 million under the airline hull insurance policy, and total passenger liability claims of $120 million to $180 million due to the crash, according to Marcos Alvarez, managing director of global insurance ratings at Morningstar DBRS.
