Questions are intensifying over the devastating South Korean plane crash that tragically killed all but two people on board.
Authorities are coming under increased pressure to explain how the Jeju Air flight lost control whilst Aviation experts have raised questions about an “unusual” concrete wall near the runway.
Terrifying shows the plane coming off the runway before colliding with the wall and bursting into flames at Muan International Airport on Sunday, December 29.
Air safety expert David Learmount said that, had the “obstruction” not been there, the plane “would have come to rest with most – possibly all – those on board still alive”.
The government said on Tuesday it was reviewing whether the wall met regulations.
Another aviation analyst agreed. Captain Ross Aimer, chief executive of Aero Consulting Experts, told Reuters news agency: “Unfortunately, that thing was the reason that everybody got killed, because they literally hit a concrete structure. It shouldn’t have been there.”
The exact cause of the crash remains unknown, early theories believed the plane sucked a bird into its engine and the jet’s landing gear apparently failed to deploy.
However, an array of experts do not believe a collision of that kind would have been forceful enough to prevent the pilot from lowering the Boeing 737-800’s landing gear as it approached the runway.
The aircraft that crashed had completed 13 flights in the two days prior to the accident, with some of those flights taking place in other Asian countries.
Jeju Air confirmed that the aircraft had no previous accident history and was fully operational when it left Bangkok.
Heartbroken relatives remain gathered at Muan airport – the scene of the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil to express frustration at the slow progress of the recovery and identification of the victims.
Park Han-shin, who represents the victims’ relatives, called for search efforts in the crash area to be stepped up. He told reporters: “We want the authorities to bring our loved ones back, even if they are only 80 per cent intact.”
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, with South Korea leading the efforts, assisted by Boeing and the US National Transportation Safety Board.