Why was there a wall close to the monitor?

Aviation consultants have raised questions on an “uncommon” concrete wall close to the runway and its function within the aircraft crash in South Korea that killed 179 individuals.

Footage exhibits the Jeju Air aircraft flying off the runway earlier than colliding with the wall and catching fireplace at Muan Worldwide Airport.

Authorities investigating the causes of South Korea’s worst aircraft crash on file are contemplating the importance of the concrete wall’s location about 250 meters from the top of the runway.

Aviation security professional David Learmount mentioned that if the “obstruction” had not been there, the aircraft “would have come to a halt with most – maybe all – of the individuals on board nonetheless alive”.

The pilot reported that the aircraft struck a chook, then aborted the preliminary touchdown and requested clearance to land in the wrong way.

The aircraft descended a long way alongside the two,800 m runway and appeared to land with out utilizing its wheels or some other touchdown gear.

Mr Learmount mentioned the touchdown was “nearly as good as a flapless, gearless touchdown could possibly be: wings stage, nostril not too excessive to keep away from breaking the tail” and that the aircraft had no not suffered substantial harm from sliding down the monitor.

“The rationale so many individuals died was not the touchdown itself, however the truth that the aircraft collided with a really exhausting impediment simply past the top of the runway” , he defined.

Munich-based Lufthansa pilot Christian Beckert referred to as the concrete construction “uncommon”, telling the Reuters information company: “Usually, at an airport with a runway on the finish, you do not have a wall .”

The concrete construction homes a navigation system that helps planes land – referred to as a locator – in line with South Korea’s Yonhap information company.

Standing 4 meters excessive, it’s lined in earth and has been raised to maintain the locator stage with the monitor to make sure it features correctly, Yonhap reported.

South Korea’s Transportation Ministry mentioned different airports within the nation and a few abroad have tools put in with concrete buildings. Nonetheless, officers will look at whether or not it ought to have been made with lighter supplies that might break extra simply on affect.

Chris Kingswood, a pilot with 48 years of expertise who flew the identical sort of aircraft concerned within the accident, advised BBC Information: “Obstacles inside a sure vary and distance of the runway should be frangible, this which suggests if a aircraft hits them they break.

“It appears uncommon that it is such a inflexible factor. From what I perceive, the aircraft was touring very quick, landed very far down the runway, so it’s going to have gone over the top of the runway… so the place do you draw the road? That is definitely a topic that might be investigated.

“Airplanes usually are not stable buildings – they’re, by design, light-weight to make them environment friendly in flight. They don’t seem to be actually designed to go at excessive speeds on their bellies, so any sort of construction might trigger the fuselage to interrupt after which be destroyed.” catastrophic.

“Gas is saved within the wings, so as soon as the wing ruptures, the chance of fireplace is critical.

“So it’s not sure that if the wall hadn’t been there the end result would have been utterly completely different.”

Mr Kingswood mentioned he could be “shocked if the airfield had not met all the necessities in step with trade requirements”.

“I believe if we went via the airfields of many main worldwide airports… we’d discover many obstacles that is also accused of presenting a hazard,” he added.

Aviation analyst Sally Gethin questioned whether or not the pilot knew the barrier was there, particularly for the reason that aircraft was approaching in the wrong way from the same old touchdown strategy.

She advised BBC Information: “We have to know if (the pilots) knew there was this tough border on the finish?

“If the management tower had ordered them to cancel use of the runway the second time, that ought to come out within the black field investigation.

“I believe there are such a lot of questions.”