Jeju Air makes second announcement to the public regarding Muan passenger plane accident… “Support for bereaved families using 1.5 trillion won in insurance”

by times news cr

Second briefing on the Muan airliner accident… Share support plan for bereaved families
Representative Kim Lee-bae: “Deep condolences and apology to the bereaved family.”
More than 260 employees dispatched to Muan Airport to support passengers’ families
“Support for bereaved families using $1 billion liability insurance”
Support for Incheon Airport and schedule changes related to Muan Airport closure
176 deaths confirmed… Search for 3 missing people

119 firefighters are working on the scene of a passenger plane accident that occurred at Muan International Airport on the 29th. Muan = Reporter Park Young-cheol [email protected]

Jeju Air held a second briefing at 6 p.m. on the 29th regarding the Jeju Air passenger plane runway departure accident that occurred at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do. The second briefing, like the first (held at 2 p.m.), was held at the Orchid Hall of Mayfield Hotel B1 in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

Regarding the accident, Jeju Air CEO Kim Lee-bae issued a public apology to the public. CEO Kim Lee-bae said, “We offer our deepest condolences and apology to the passengers and bereaved families,” and added, “We currently have to wait for the official investigation by government agencies regarding the cause of the accident, but as the CEO, I fully feel responsibility regardless of the cause of the accident. “Jeju Air will make every effort to quickly resolve the accident and support the families of the passengers, and will also do its best to determine the cause of the accident together with the government,” he said.

Song Gyeong-hoon, head of Jeju Air’s management support division, shared the on-site response situation. Song Gyeong-hoon, head of the management support division, said, “Currently, a 260-person passenger family support team has been dispatched to Muan Airport and a separate accident investigation team has been formed.” He continued, “The accident plane is covered by liability insurance worth 1 billion dollars (approximately 1.476 trillion won), so we will do our best to support the bereaved families using this,” and added, “The Muan Airport runway is scheduled to be closed until January 1 of next year.” “For customers scheduled to use the airport, we will provide support to avoid any inconvenience by using Incheon Airport or changing schedules if necessary.”

Jeju Air convened a company-wide emergency meeting immediately after the accident and began establishing an on-site response headquarters at Muan Airport around 1 p.m. A temporary morgue has been set up near the scene and the casualty situation is being checked.

According to Jeju Air, Flight 7C 2216, which departed Bangkok, Thailand, and was landing at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do at around 9:03 on this day, deviated from the end of the runway and hit the outer wall of the airport, and a fire broke out on the aircraft. A total of 181 people were on board this aircraft, including 175 passengers (173 Koreans and 2 Thais) and 6 crew members. Miraculously, two crew members were rescued and taken to the hospital. The accident is being handled at the scene. The number of confirmed deaths to date is known to be 176.

Jeju Air makes second announcement to the public regarding Muan passenger plane accident… “Support for bereaved families using 1.5 trillion won in insurance”

According to fire authorities, passengers poured out of the aircraft after it collided with the airport fence. The fuselage appears to have been cracked or significantly damaged when the aircraft collided with the exterior wall of the airport. In particular, it is known that it takes time to identify and recover the bodies as the passengers were thrown out during the collision. It is said that the two surviving crew members were rescued from the rear of the aircraft. Except for the tail compartment where the survivors were rescued, other parts were reported to be unrecognizable due to the fire. At the time, the fire department also believed that other than the two rescued people, the chances of survival were slim.

According to Jeju Air, the accident aircraft model was a Boeing B737-800. The aircraft number is HL8088, its age is 15 years, and it was manufactured on February 3, 2009. This time, the plane attempted to land with its body touching the ground without unfolding its wheels (landing gear) during landing at Muan Airport. It can be seen that an emergency landing was made due to an emergency situation. Regarding the maintenance status of the aircraft, it is said that pre-departure and arrival inspections and 24-hour inspections were all carried out without any special issues.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that bird strikes and landing gear malfunctions are being mentioned as causes of the accident, but a clear investigation is needed to determine the exact cause. In addition, it was said that it was difficult to say that the accident occurred because the Muan Airport runway length (2800m) was short.

Some believe that the cause of this passenger plane accident was a bird collision, based on video reports from the accident site. One video shows an unidentified object colliding with the right wing engine of a passenger plane that was operating at a lower altitude before landing. It is said that on this day, the Muan Airport control tower also issued a bird collision warning to the pilot of the accident passenger plane. Afterwards, the pilot reportedly declared a mayday. There was news that the rescued survivor also mentioned a bird strike. A representative example of an aircraft accident caused by a bird strike is the emergency landing of a United Airlines flight on the Hudson River that occurred in New York, USA in 2009. The area around Muan Airport in Jeollanam-do, where this accident occurred, is said to be an area with active bird activity due to its many wetlands. Some say that as bird habitats are pushed out due to urbanization due to economic development, an environment suitable for birds to live near airports, which are relatively sparsely populated, may be created.

Meanwhile, in relation to this accident, the Korean Civil Aviation Pilots Association also announced an official position that it would spare no effort in providing necessary support and cooperation in the investigation of the cause of the accident and the accident resolution process. The association said, “We pray for the peace of those who lost their precious lives and convey our deepest condolences and condolences to the bereaved families. We will prevent rumors and speculative remarks that may cause pain to the bereaved families and help ensure an accurate accident investigation.” He said.

Kim Min-beom, Donga.com reporter [email protected]

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