Kim Yi-bae stated that the plane’s safety was checked before the flight; 179 people died after colliding on Sunday (Dec 29)
The president of the airline Jeju Air, Kim Yi-bae, said this Tuesday (Dec 31, 2024), that a prior inspection did not find “no problem” on the plane before 179 people in South Korea on Sunday (Dec 29).
“Nothing unusual was observed with the landing gear”said the airline’s CEO at a press conference in Seoul, according to information from .
Yi-bae also responded that the plane would not have been cleared for takeoff if the maintenance team had not approved its safety. According to the CEO, the number of maintenance workers per plane is 12.9.
It also said that Jeju Air has 2 full flight simulators and its pilots are trained to regulatory standards.
“We have a strict maintenance checklist, we can’t miss things. If something was forgotten, it would be a serious problem. As for the proper functioning of the landing gear, that is directly related to the accident investigation, and we are not in a position to know at this time.”he stated.
In the video of the accident, it is possible to see the plane arriving on the runway and beginning to land. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, lands with the landing gear retracted and directly on its belly on the runway.
When trying to land, the aircraft was unable to reduce speed and slid until it hit a wall that was already outside the runway at Muan Airport. The plane exploded in the collision.
There are still no details about what caused the accident, but authorities suspect that a failure in the landing gear, caused by a bird that crashed into the aircraft, may have resulted in the tragedy. Climatic conditions are also investigated.
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✈️ The accident with a plane that left the runway and hit a wall at Muan airport, in South Korea, on Sunday (Dec 29, 2024), Saturday morning (Dec 28) in Brazil, left at least 177 dead . Two crew members were rescued alive.
According to the news agency…
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The airline’s president also said that the company was covering the costs of funerals for the victims’ families, providing psychological counseling and preparing emergency compensation for them.
During the interview, Yi-bae also said that the airline would reduce its number of winter flights by 10 to 15%. The objective would be to carry out more maintenance on the planes.
Despite this, he said that the measure is not an admission that the company operates many planes. He added that Jeju Air will increase weather monitoring before and after flights.
The CEO also acknowledged that over the past 5 years, Jeju Air was the Korean airline that paid the most fines and faced the highest number of administrative actions. He said, however, that the company was improving its track record and strengthening safety and maintenance procedures to “Restore trust” of consumers.
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