AN AVIATION expert claims “everyone could have survived” the doomed South Korean jet crash that killed 179.
David Learmount of Flight International Magazine says a single fatal error led to South Korea’s worst domestic aviation disaster.
Learmount pinned the tragedy on a navigation system, known as a localizer, that was placed in the runway’s overrun.
He told Sky: “I don’t know what standards they think were appropriate but other airports do not put the instrument landing system antennae in a concrete structure.
“If that hadn’t been there everybody would be alive now.”
He added that the structures are usually collapsible in other airports rather than being concrete to prevent fatal collisions.
David heaped praise on the pilot for his calm and effective landing and said the disaster only happened due to the wall.
The expert thinks the plane hit the tarmac at about 200mph.
He said: “What we saw in the video was the aircraft being put down beautifully – it was perfectly level.”
But, then the plane hit the wall, causing it to explode in a giant fireball and kill most on board.
The concrete mound the antenna sat on was reportedly some 250m past the end of the runway, Yonhap reports.
It is 4m high, with the bottom half covered by a mound of dirt and was reportedly only erected last year.
The localizer had to sit on a mound as it had to sit perpendicular to the runway but was positioned on a slight decline.
Learmount added that at most airports the structure is made out of metal that would collapse if it was struck by a plane.
The antenna support being made out of concrete could have severely worsened the disaster, he said.
A number of other aviation experts have also commented on outstanding questions following the disaster.
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Gregory Alegi, an aviation expert and former teacher at Italy’s air force academy, said: “At this point there are a lot more questions than we have answers.
“Why was the plane going so fast? Why were the flaps not open? Why was the landing gear not down?”
Christian Beckert, a flight safety expert and Lufthansa pilot, said the video footage suggested that aside from the reversers, most of the plane’s braking systems were not activated, creating a “big problem” and a fast landing.
Beckert said a bird strike was unlikely to have damaged the landing gear while it was still up, and that if it had happened when it was down, it would have been hard to raise again.
He said: “It’s really, really very rare and very unusual not to lower the gear, because there are independent systems where we can lower the gear with an alternate system.”
Air crash investigators are now facing the agonising task of combing through the charred wreckage to find out how the deadly crash happened.
Both components in the aircraft’s black box have been found but search teams are continuing to look through the rubble at the scene.
The crash is now the worst air disaster on Korean soil ever after only two of the 181 on board survived.
They are reported to be a 33-year-old male cabin steward and a stewardess in her 20s who were both pulled from the tail of the plane.
Questions are now being asked however over the initial version of events – that a “bird strike” somehow crippled the plane’s landing gear on approach to Muan.
How that caused the landing gear to fail is not yet clear.
The pilot issued a mayday call only one minute after receiving a warning about the birds from the control tower.
Footage caught a white plume of smoke erupt through the right engine.
Witnesses spoke about how they heard a bird get stuck in the motor as well as an explosion noise.
AT the end of the Muan International Airport’s runway was an antenna that sat on a concrete wall.
The antenna, known as a localizer, provided navigation data that assisted with landings to incoming flights.
Sitting about 4m high and covered in 2m of dirt, the mound sat about 250m behind the end of the runway.
The localizer had to sit on a mound as it had to sit perpendicular to the runway which was positioned on a slight decline.
Aviation expert David Learmount added that at most airports the structure is made out of metal that would collapse if it was struck by a plane.
The antenna support being made out of concrete could have severely worsened the disaster, he said.
Details about the deceased are now beginning to emerge – with two Thai nationals on board and the oldest person being 78.
Tragically, five were children aged under 10 years old with most on the plane being in their 50s and 60s.
A 60-year-old man was grieving at the airport after five in his family, across three generations, were killed.
Low-cost carrier Jeju Air apologised with officials bowing in front of cameras and vowing to do all they could to help.
The airline said in a statement: “We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident.
“We sincerely apologise for causing concern.”
The official said it was “unlikely” the disaster had been caused by a short runway after the plane skidding off the end and hit a wall.
They said: “The runway is 2,800 meters long, and similar-sized aircraft have been operating on it without issues.”
A seven-day national mourning period has been announced by the government.
By Nick Parker, Foreign Editor
JULIAN Bray, an aviation expert and major incident consultant, told The Sun the crash was “confusing”.
“It appears to be a textbook landing, with one major exception – no wheels.
“The undercarriage has not deployed.”
The expert questioned how much control the pilot had of the plane – as despite hitting the ground with no landing gear at a rapid speed the pilot managed keep the plane “level”.
Bray said he thought the plane would have burst into flames earlier as it ground along the runway.
But, the jet somehow didn’t catch alight and continued skidding into the wall.
Bray said: “It goes slap into the wall and at that point the whole thing explodes.”
He said: “We need to put together the process second-by-second, find out which controls were working – which failed and only then can you come to a proper conclusion.”
