Pre-flight checks discovered no issues, says Jeju Air CEO

A pre-flight inspection of a Jeju Air jetliner hours earlier than it crashed in South Korea, killing 179 folks, discovered “no issues”, the airline stated.

“Nothing irregular was discovered with the touchdown gear,” airline CEO Kim Yi-bae stated at a information convention in Seoul, as investigations proceed into decide why the wheels weren’t prolonged through the emergency touchdown.

The aircraft was coming from Bangkok when it crashed at Muan Worldwide Airport on Sunday, catching fireplace and killing everybody on board besides two crew members. after sliding against a wall.

Investigators are nonetheless working to determine the victims and set up what precipitated South Korea’s deadliest aircraft crash on file.

Many questions stay unanswered and investigators are inspecting the position {that a} fowl strike or climate situations could have performed.

They’re additionally specializing in why the Boeing 737-800 didn’t have its touchdown gear down when it hit the runway shortly after 9 a.m. native time (0000 GMT) on Sunday.

A whole bunch of grieving relations are camped at Muan airport, livid that they haven’t but seen the our bodies of their family members.

To date, solely a number of the victims’ stays have been returned to their households. 4 folks have been transported to funeral houses on Tuesday, however most different households are nonetheless ready for his or her family members to be recognized.

Responding to questions concerning the firm’s security procedures on Tuesday, Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae stated the aircraft wouldn’t have been allowed to take off if the upkeep staff had not authorised his security.

He stated its pilots have been educated to regulatory requirements and the corporate had two full flight simulators.

“We’ve got 12.9 maintainers per plane, up from 12 in 2019,” he stated.

“We’ve got a strict upkeep guidelines, it is not doable to overlook issues. If one thing was lacking it will be a significant issue.

“As for whether or not the touchdown gear operated correctly, that is immediately associated to the accident investigation, and we’re not ready to know at the moment.”

Mr. Kim stated the airline would cut back its air site visitors this winter by 10 to fifteen p.c, so it might do extra upkeep work on the planes, however stated that didn’t imply the corporate was working too many planes. .

He added that they’d improve their monitoring of climate situations earlier than and after flights.

Mr Kim additionally acknowledged that over the previous 5 years, Jeju Air had paid probably the most fines and confronted probably the most administrative actions of any Korean airline – however stated the corporate was continuously bettering its efficiency. security file.

He stated he was decided to strengthen the corporate’s safety and upkeep procedures, including: “We goal to revive your confidence in us by strengthening our safety measures.”

Mr Kim stated the airline was making ready emergency compensation for the victims’ households and protecting funeral prices.

The cash could be launched quickly, he stated, earlier than the insurance coverage course of was accomplished. He added that firm staff are on website to supply psychological help to households.

The 179 passengers on Flight 7C2216 ranged in age from three to 78, though most have been between 40, 50 and 60, in line with Yonhap information company. Two Thai nationals have been among the many useless and the others have been believed to be South Koreans, authorities stated.

Many relations are pissed off by how lengthy the method of figuring out the victims’ our bodies has taken, however officers say it’s a problem as a result of these on board have been badly burned within the fireplace that adopted the accident.

A person the BBC spoke to on the airport stated his nephew and his nephew’s two sons have been on a celebratory journey to Thailand to mark the top of college entrance exams. All three died through the flight.

“I am unable to imagine the entire household is lacking,” Maeng Gi-su, 78, instructed the BBC. “My coronary heart hurts a lot.”

The runway at Muan Worldwide Airport is to stay closed for an additional week whereas forensic groups accumulate extra stays and particles.

Investigators started inspecting the aircraft’s two black containers — the cockpit voice recorder and the flight knowledge recorder — on Tuesday.

The second system is lacking a vital connector, they are saying, which is able to make extracting knowledge harder. This might lengthen the seek for solutions as to why this aircraft was pressured to land with out its touchdown gear.

Officers additionally stated they have been reviewing rules relating to a concrete barrier that the aircraft crashed into when it skidded previous the top of the runway.