Washington [US], January 11: All the people on board the Jeju Air plane that crashed in South Korea in late 2024 could have survived if the concrete wall at the end of the runway had been made of a different material.
The New York Times reported on January 9, citing an unpublished report from the South Korean government, that the Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people in late 2024 could have unfolded differently if the concrete wall at the end of the runway had been made of a more fragile material.
On December 29, 2024, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, en route from Bangkok (Thailand) to Muan International Airport (southern South Korea), experienced a malfunction and made a belly landing. The plane struck a concrete wall at the end of the runway and exploded. That wall housed navigation antenna towers and was constructed of robust materials.
The report, based on computer simulations of the landing, suggests that the accident might have unfolded differently if the wall had been made of a more fragile material, as per international and domestic guidelines.
The report, conducted by a research team in Seoul at the request of the South Korean Ministry of Transport to investigate the accident, was finalized in August 2025 and revealed by a lawmaker on January 8.
There were 181 people on board, and only two survived: the flight attendants seated at the rear of the plane. According to official information, the plane's engine failed after sucking in a flock of birds near the airport. The pilot shut down one engine before making an emergency landing.
The plane made a belly landing at 232 km/h, skidded 1,100 meters down the runway, and crashed into a concrete wall at 260 km/h. According to simulations, if the structure supporting the antenna masts at the end of the runway had been made of a more fragile material as instructed, the plane would have crashed through it and the airport perimeter wall, then skidded another 630 meters before coming to a stop almost intact, without serious injury.
Representative Kim Eun-hye, who announced the report's main conclusions, said she was shocked by the information and called for accountability for those who constructed the concrete structure. To date, 44 people have been summoned for investigation, including the former transport minister, but no one has been prosecuted.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
