Discovery, which implied human errors, generated quick protests and vehements of family members and colleagues of the victims, who accuse the authorities of trying to transfer responsibility for the disaster to the dead
The initial results of an investigation into the Jeju Air air crash, which left 179 dead in December last year, showed that although the two engines on the plane were suffered bird attacks, the pilots turned off the less damaged engine shortly before forced landing. The discovery, which implied human errors, generated quick protests and vehements of family members and colleagues of the victims, who accuse the authorities of trying to transfer responsibility for the disaster to the dead pilots. The South Korean Railroad and Aviation Investigation Council initially planned to disclose the results of the plane’s engines investigation last Saturday, 19, but was forced to cancel the press conference against the strong protests of the victims of the accident, who were informed of the discoveries earlier this day, according to government officials and relatives of the dead.
“If they mean that the investigation was done reliably and independently, they should have evidence to support their explanation,” said Kim Yu-Jin, head of an association of families who lost their loved ones. “None of us are resentful of the pilots.” The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air landed by stomach down without the Muan Airport on South Korea International Airport on December 29, 2024. He surpassed a track, hit a concrete structure and exploded on fire. It was the deadliest disaster in South Korea aviation history in decades: only two among 181 people on board survived.
A copy of an unpaid informative report obtained by the Associated Press news agency shows that a multilateral investigation team led by South Korea said it did not find defects in the engine’s engine engine and GE. The report states that thorough engine tests revealed that the plane’s right engine suffered more serious internal damage after bird attacks, as it was involved in large fires and black smoke. However, the pilots shut down the left engine of the plane, according to the report, citing probes on the cabin voice recorder, the flight data recorder and the engine exams.
Authorities said earlier that the Boeing Jet Black Boxes stopped recording about four minutes before the accident, complicating investigations into the cause of the disaster the driving cabin voice recorder and the flight data recorder cited in the informative report refer to the data stored before the recording interruption. The report did not say why the pilots turned off the less damaged engine and did not say if it was a mistake of the pilots.
Mourning families and fellow pilots criticize the investigation
Mourning families and Jeju Air pilots and other airlines have criticized the results of the investigation, saying authorities should disclose the cabin voice recorder and the flight data recorder. “We, the 6.5 thousand civilian airline riders, could not contain our boiling anger against the absurd argument of the Railroad and Aviation Accident Investigation Council, which lost neutrality,” said the Korean Alliance of Pilot Union in a statement on Tuesday, 22
Jeju Air union drivers also issued a statement by asking the authorities to have scientific evidence showing that the plane should have landed normally if he had flew with the engine less damaged. The last report focused only on engine problems and did not mention other factors that could also be held responsible for the accident. Among them is the concrete structure against which the plane has collided. It housed a set of antennas, called locators. They are designed to guide aircraft safely during the landings. Many analysts say they should have been made with easier materials to break.
Some riders say they suspect that the government would not like to blame locators or bird attacks on mass deaths, as Muan airport is under the direct administration of the Ministry of Transport. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Council and the Ministry of Transport offered no public response to criticism. They said they will not publicly discuss engine investigations to respect the demands of mourning families.
A person familiar with the investigation told the report that authorities are analyzing locators and other issues, including if air traffic controllers have transmitted the danger of bird attacks to pilots quickly sufficiently and which emergency training to Jeju Air offered pilots. The source, which called for anonymity by citing the delicate nature of the investigation, said the officers previously planned to disclose the results of the investigations after analyzing several issues, but changed the plan and tried to publicize the outcome of engine investigations at the victim’s families.
She said authorities do not intend to assign liability for disaster to pilots and should publish the final results of the investigation by June next year. But Kwon Bo Hun, dean of the Farm of the Far East Aeronautics in South Korea, called the announcement planned by the “clumsy” government because he did not disclose the evidence that supported his conclusion about the pilots. He said he only annoyed “emotional parts of us the fact that the investigation puts the blame in dead people.”
A former transportation minister, who became a university professor, contacted by the report, said the engine investigation report should be “reliable” as it is based on an analysis of the cabin and flight data recorders that “don’t lie.” He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the delicate nature of the issue.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Fernando Dias
