By Hyunsoo Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s transport ministry said on Wednesday it would remove the concrete dam installed at Muan International Airport following last month’s Jeju plane crash, the country’s worst domestic air disaster.
While investigators are still investigating the cause of the crash of Jeju Airlines Flight 7C2216, including reported bird strikes, experts said the massive berm supporting navigation antennas at the end of the runway likely made the disaster more deadly than it could have been.
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In some of the first large-scale repairs announced since the accident, authorities said they would put in place new foundations or other modifications to similar antennas at seven airports, including Muan Airport and Jeju International Airport – one of South Korea’s busiest airports – that are either below standard or Land or easily accessible. break.
The decision came after a review of the structures containing the antennas that direct landings at airports across the country known as Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), or “spots.”
“Muan International Airport plans to completely remove the existing concrete and reinstall the locator device in the fragile structure,” the ministry said in a statement.
The accident, which occurred on December 29, killed 179 people, and only two crew members sitting near the back of the Boeing 737-800 plane survived.
Video footage showed the passenger plane colliding with the structure and exploding after landing at high speed without gears and sliding past the end of the runway.
The runway design has also been criticized as not meeting safety standards, prompting authorities to expand safety zones beyond the runway so that they are clear of major obstructions.
The Ministry of Transport said it will ensure a 240-meter (787-foot) safety zone at all airports to meet all relevant regulations. The area at Muan Airport was approximately 200 meters before the accident.
Police said separately that Son Chang-wan, the former head of the state-run Korea Airports Corporation who was in office when the Muan Airport structure was renovated, was found dead at his home on Tuesday in an apparent suicide.
A police official said that Sun was not investigated for the plane crash and was not summoned for questioning about it.
The Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that the closure of Muan Airport has been extended until April 18.
(Reporting by Hyunsoo Yim, Editing by Jimmy Freed)