Expert claims ‘everyone could have survived’ doomed South Korea flight

An aviation expert claims “everyone could have survived” the doomed South Korean jet crash that killed 179.

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 News in the UK: “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.”

Firefighters and recovery teams work at the scene. Picture: UNG YEON-JE / AFP

He added that the structures are usually collapsible in other airports rather than being concrete to prevent fatal collisions.

Mr Learmount 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 320km/h.

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.

This photo shows an abnormal flame coming out of the right engine of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. Picture: YONHAP / AFP) / – South Korea OUT

Some 179 people were killed. Picture: Handout / South Korean National Fire Agency / AFP

Mr 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.

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.

Mr 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.

This picture shows wreckage at the scene.

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.

Bird theory

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.

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.

Relatives of passengers of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft react. Picture: JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)

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 2,800m long, and similar-sized aircraft have been operating on it without issues.”

A seven-day national mourning period has been announced by the government.

Haunting last image of crash victim

A haunting final photo has emerged of a three-year-old boy who died in the Jeju Air plane crash that killed all but two of the 181 people on board.

Five of those killed on the flight from Thailand to South Korea were children under the age of ten.

Among them was a three-year-old boy, who is understood to have been killed alongside his parents as they returned from their first family holiday overseas.

Kang Ko, 43, and his wife Jin Lee Seon, 37, had shared pictures on social media from their trip - including one of the child looking out the plane window.

A heartbreaking caption read: “My son is going abroad for the first time on a night flight, and his first passport has no stamp.”

The three-year-old boy was returning from his first foreign holiday when he died. Picture: Instagram

The three-year-old boy's father Kang Ko, 43, and his mother Jin Lee Seon, 37, shared pictures of their trip on Instagram hours before boarding the doomed flight. Picture: Instagram

Also among those killed were three generations of the same family, The Sun reports.

A man in his 60s told Korean Yonhap news agency that his sister-in-law, daughter, her husband and their young children had died.

All those on board the flight are thought to have been Korean except for two Thai nationals -one of whom was a 22-year-old woman called Sirithon Chaue.

Tragically, her mother was waiting for her at the airport when the plane crashed landed.

Chaue’s uncle told how she was going to visit her mum, who lives in South Korea, and hoped to find a job there.

He added: “She always dreamt of working there as an air hostess.

“Her mother was waiting at the airport and at first she thought the plane malfunction was minor. But then she saw the videos of what happened on social media. She was in shock and panic.”

The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea when it crashed on arrival on December 29, killing 179 people. Picture: AFP.

Cries rang out through the airport as officials confirmed the names of some of those killed.

At least 141 victims of the Jeju Air plane crash have been identified so far, South Korea’s land ministry said on Monday,

An official added: “Once we are ready to transfer the bodies following autopsies by investigation agencies, we will contact the families.”

Devastated families have gathered at the airport and are demanding to see the bodies of their relatives.

Anger has been directed at police, who say they are taking their time to carefully identify victims.

Police superintendent general Na Won reassured families they were making their best efforts to collect and match as many bodies as possible, the BBC reports.

— with The Sun