By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Related Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A crew of U.S. investigators together with representatives from Boeing on Tuesday examined the positioning of a aircraft crash that killed 179 individuals in South Korea whereas authorities have been conducting security inspections on all Boeing 737-800 plane operated by the nation’s airways.
All however two of the 181 individuals aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean finances airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. Video confirmed the plane, with out its touchdown gear deployed, crash-landed on its stomach and overshoot a runaway at South Korea’s southern Muan Worldwide Airport earlier than it slammed into concrete fence and burst right into a flame.
The aircraft was seen having an engine hassle, and preliminary examinations additionally say the pilots acquired a chook strike warning from the bottom management heart and issued a misery sign as effectively. However many specialists say the touchdown gear concern was probably the principle explanation for the crash.
The South Korean authorities has launched security inspections on all of the 101 Boeing 737-800s within the nation. The Transport Ministry mentioned authorities are taking a look at upkeep and operation data throughout 5 days of security checks which might be to run till Friday.
Specialists from the U.S. Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) and representatives from plane producer Boeing Co. examine the positioning of a aircraft crash at Muan Worldwide Airport in Muan, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Kim Sung-min/Yonhap through AP)
The ministry mentioned {that a} delegation of eight U.S. investigators — one from the Federal Aviation Administration, three from Nationwide Transportation Security Board and 4 from Boeing — made an on-site go to to the crash web site on Tuesday. The outcomes of their examination weren’t instantly out there.
Kim E-bae, Jeju Air’s president, instructed reporters Tuesday that his firm will add extra upkeep staff and scale back flight operations by 10-15% till March as a part of efforts to reinforce the protection of plane operations.
John Hansman, an aviation skilled at MIT, mentioned the crash was almost definitely the results of an issue with the aircraft’s hydraulic management methods. He mentioned that might be in keeping with the touchdown gear and wing flaps not being deployed “and might indicate a control issue which would explain the rush to get on the ground.”
The Boeing 737-800 — an earlier model of 737 than the Max — is a broadly used aircraft with a great security file, in line with Najmedin Meshkati, an engineering professor on the College of Southern California who has studied aviation security.
He mentioned the failure of the aircraft’s system for broadcasting location, working its touchdown gear and increasing the wing flaps to decelerate point out a widespread drawback that affected electrical and hydraulic methods. He’s assured that investigators will be taught what went improper by analyzing info from the flight information and cockpit voice recorders.
“These are really the two pillars for accident analysis and accident reconstruction,” Meshkati mentioned. Like different aviation specialists, Meshkati additionally questioned the situation of a strong wall only a few hundred ft (meters) previous the top of the runway, on condition that planes sometimes do overshoot runways. “Having such a big concrete barrier over there was really very bad luck for this particular airplane,” he mentioned.
South Korean officers have mentioned they’ll look into whether or not the Muan airport’s localizer — a concrete fence housing a set of antennas designed to information plane safely throughout landings — ought to have been made with lighter supplies that might break extra simply upon influence.
The crash was the deadliest catastrophe in South Korea’s aviation historical past in many years. A seven-day nationwide mourning has been declared till Jan. 4.
The Transport Ministry mentioned Tuesday that authorities have recognized 175 our bodies and are conducting DNA checks to determine the remaining 5. Bereaved households mentioned that officers instructed them that the our bodies have been so badly broken that officers want time earlier than returning them to kinfolk.
On Tuesday, Park Han Shin, a consultant of the households, accused the federal government of failing to offer freezers on time as promised and mentioned there are worries that the our bodies might decompose. “The last dignities of the victims are seriously hurt. We strongly criticize authorities for failing to keep its promise,” Park mentioned.
Related Press author David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.
