South Korea to Tear Down Airport Concrete Walls After Jeju Air Crash, Design Criticized

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korea will tear down concrete walls at several , including Muan International Airport, after the plane crash in December. The country will also replace barriers at nine other airports.

The Jeju Air 7C2216 crash, ’s deadliest, is still under investigation. In addition to reports of bird strikes, experts say a large embankment supporting a navigation antenna at the end of the runway likely made the disaster more deadly than it needed to be.

The Dec. 29 crash killed a total of 179 people, with only two crew members sitting near the rear of the Boeing 737-800 surviving. Video footage showed the passenger jet, flying from Bangkok, Thailand, hitting the structure and exploding after landing at high speed without lowering its landing gear and skidding past the end of the runway.

Runway Design Criticized

The runway design has also been criticized for not meeting safety standards, prompting authorities to expand the post-runway safety zone, which is free of major obstacles.

In one of the announcements since the crash, authorities said they would make new foundations or other adjustments for similar antennas at seven airports including Muan and Jeju International Airport, one of South Korea’s busiest, that are below ground level or fragile.

The decision was made after reviewing the structures that house landing guidance antennas at airports across Korea known as Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), or “localisers.”

“Muan International Airport plans to completely remove the existing concrete and reinstall the localisers in fragile structures,” the ministry said in a statement, as reported by .

The transport ministry said it would ensure the 240-meter (800-foot) runways at all airports meet all relevant regulations. The area at Muan airport was about 200 meters (660 feet) long before the crash.

Police said separately that Son Chang-wan, a former president of the state-run Korea Airports Corporation who was in office when the structure at Muan airport was renovated, was found dead at his home on Tuesday in an apparent suicide.

Son was not under investigation for the plane crash and has not been called in for questioning, a police official said.

The closure of Muan has been extended until April 18, the transport ministry said on Saturday.

REUTERS | INDEPENDENT

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