A SOUTH Korean government-commissioned report has found that the Jeju Air crash in December 2024, which killed 179 of the 181 people on board, might not have been fatal had a concrete mound not been positioned at the end of the runway, according to an opposition lawmaker.
The Boeing 737-800, operated by Jeju Air, was flying from Bangkok when it belly-landed at Muan International Airport after suffering bird strikes.
The aircraft overran the runway and struck a concrete support structure for a localiser antenna, killing almost everyone on board. Only two flight attendants seated at the far rear of the aircraft survived.
Reuters reported today that a simulation included in the report, which was commissioned by the government-led Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, indicated that all passengers and crew might have survived if the concrete structure had not been present, Kim Eun-hye, a member of a bipartisan parliamentary special committee investigating the accident, said in a press release on Thursday.
According to the release, the simulation was carried out by a South Korean structural engineering institute and found that the aircraft’s initial impact with the runway was not strong enough to cause severe injuries.
The analysis showed the plane would have slid approximately 770 metres before coming to a stop if it had not collided with the barrier.
The report also concluded that if the navigation facility had been supported by a breakable structure, rather than a solid concrete mound, the aircraft could have broken through a fence with only minor injuries, Kim said.
Kim’s office declined to release the full report. Korea Airports Corp, which operates Muan International Airport, said it could not comment until the final investigation findings are published.
The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kim said the disaster reflected years of government negligence, dating back to 1999 when the concrete structure was built. She said it was left in place despite violating regulations and being flagged as unsafe.
Her comments come as families of the victims and opposition politicians increase pressure on authorities to provide full accountability.
They have accused investigators of delaying the release of key analysis and failing to address whether the design of airport infrastructure played a decisive role in the high death toll.
The report cited by Kim does not represent a final official conclusion on the cause of the accident. Authorities have yet to publish a full investigative report and have already missed a one-year deadline to release an interim progress update.
Muan International Airport has remained closed since the crash and is not expected to reopen until April.
A representative of the victims’ family association told Reuters that the report was “solid proof that the disaster was man-made” and said families were demanding an apology from the investigation board for concealing the information.
In a preliminary report released in January last year, investigators said both of the aircraft’s engines had sustained bird strikes. In a subsequent update in July, which was not made public due to objections from victims’ families, investigators said the pilots shut down the less-damaged engine following the bird strikes. - January 9, 2025
