Deadly crash in South Korea: 'Necessary' tarmac changes to take place at seven airports in the country

South Korean authorities said Wednesday they would review concrete barriers installed at some airports in the country following the Jeju Air crash in Muan, southwest Korea, in late December that killed 179 people.

South Korean authorities said Wednesday they would review concrete barriers installed at some airports in the country following the Jeju Air crash in Muan, southwest Korea, in late December that killed 179 people.

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On December 29, 2024, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 passengers from Bangkok belly-landed in Muan, seconds before crashing into a wall at the end of the runway and bursting into flames. Only two crew members survived. It was South Korea’s worst air disaster.

Several possible causes

Attention has focused on several possible causes. But questions have been raised about why a concrete structure, which had a localizer (an instrument that helps planes navigate when landing), was located at the end of the runway.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement that“A special safety inspection found that improvements were needed for locators at seven airports in the country”, including those in Muan and on Jeju Island, a tourist hotspot and the country's second-busiest airport after Incheon, which serves the capital Seoul.

These “improvements” would include “moving the foundations and replacing them with lightweight steel structures.” According to South Korea's National Institute of Biological Resources, “feathers were found in both engines” of the Jeju Air Boeing.

Bird Strike ?

Before the crash, the pilot had issued a bird strike alert and then aborted his initial landing attempt. On its second attempt, the landing gear did not extend.

A chief investigator, Lee Seung-yeol, told reporters that “feathers (were) found in one of the engines,”, while cautioning that a bird strike does not immediately cause engine failure.

Another challenge for investigators: The two black boxes stopped recording four minutes before the crash. The Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the closure of Muan Airport had been extended by three months, until April 18.