South Korea to change airport design after deadly Jeju air crash
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South Korea to change airport design after deadly Jeju air crash

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The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, on Dec 30, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, on Dec 30, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

SEOUL — South Korea will extend runway safety areas and redesign infrastructure after the crash of a Jeju Air Co flight last month that killed almost everyone on board, sparking criticism that the design of the airport might have exacerbated the accident.

Runway end safety areas at nine airports will be lengthened to 240 metres (787 feet), or the structure holding the so-called localiser — an instrument used to guide landing plane — will be changed to an easily breakable material, Korea's transport ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Incheon International Airport, the country's biggest hub, and Gimpo International Airport are not included on the list.

The move comes after the ministry's inspection of 15 airfields that handle domestic or international flights, including Muan International Airport, where the Dec 29 Jeju Air crash killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew on board in the nation's worst air disaster. The plane skidded on its belly off the runway and exploded after hitting a concrete structure supporting the localiser, minutes after the control tower warned of bird strikes.

While the investigation into the accident is ongoing, Korean authorities are trying to determine why the localiser structure was made of concrete, rather than on a fragile material as used in countries like the United States or Canada.

Transport Minister Sangwoo Park recently said it was wrong to place such a rigid structure near the runway in Muan, regardless of the fact that the equipment was in accordance with local rules.

Officials will install an Engineered Material Arresting System — a crushable material to help stop planes — at airports where the runway safety zone cannot be extended any further. Besides the existing 15 airports, the ministry will try to apply the same rules at seven new airports under the construction, such as the second Jeju International Airport.

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