An aviation expert has criticized the design of the airport where a tragic plane crash in South Korea occurred, calling it ‘unbelievably awful’.
South Korea is observing a seven-day mourning period following the country’s most devastating domestic aviation disaster to date.
The Jeju Air Flight 2216 incident took place at Muan International Airport, located in the southwestern part of South Korea, around 180 miles (290km) south of Seoul, on Sunday.
Sadly, 179 out of the 181 passengers and crew onboard were killed. Video footage from the airport shows the plane skidding along the runway before crashing into a concrete wall, leading to the aircraft being destroyed and a fire breaking out.
While the exact cause of the crash remains uncertain, authorities have proposed theories such as a potential bird strike as a contributing factor to the Boeing 737-800 crash.
Following the tragedy, numerous aviation experts have voiced their opinions, including David Learmount, operations and safety editor at Flight International magazine.
Learmount discussed the incident with Sky News, particularly criticizing the airport’s design.
The concrete wall at the South Korean airport was part of a guidance system intended to assist pilots in landing during low visibility or nighttime conditions.
Learmount noted that such a setup is uncommon, as others speculate about the concrete wall’s involvement in the crash.
“That kind of structure should not be there. That [the design] is awful, unbelievably awful.”
He continued: “To have a hard object about 200m or less into the overrun, I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere ever before.
“There was plenty of space for the aircraft to have slowed down, come to a halt.
“And I think everybody would have been alive…the pilots might have suffered some damage going through the security fence or something like that.
“But I even suspect they might have survived.”
Learmount further remarked: “Not only is there no justification [for the wall to be there], I think it’s verging on criminal to have it there.
“That kind of structure should not be there. That is awful. That is unbelievably awful.
“He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground.”