A government-commissioned simulation cited by lawmaker Kim Eun-hye suggests the December 2024 Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash that killed 179 people could have been far less deadly if a concrete mound at the end of Muan Airport's runway had not been present. The analysis found the aircraft's initial impact would likely not have caused severe injuries and that the jet would have slid about 770 m (2,526 ft) before stopping without the barrier. Families say the findings point to long-standing government negligence and are demanding accountability as a full official report remains pending.
Government Simulation Suggests Concrete Barrier Turned Jeju Air Crash Fatal, Lawmaker Says
FILE PHOTO: The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
By Kyu-seok Shim
SEOUL, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A government-commissioned analysis suggests the December 2024 Jeju Air crash, which killed 179 people, may have been far less deadly if a concrete mound at the end of Muan International Airport's runway had not been present, an opposition lawmaker said on Thursday.
The Boeing 737-800, arriving from Bangkok, belly-landed and overran the runway. Nearly everyone on board died after the aircraft struck a concrete support for a localiser antenna; only two flight attendants seated at the extreme rear survived.
Kim Eun-hye, a member of a bipartisan parliamentary special committee probing the accident, said a simulation included in a report commissioned by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board indicates that all passengers and crew might have survived if the concrete structure had not been in place.
The simulation, carried out by a South Korean structural engineering institute, concluded the aircraft's initial impact with the runway was not strong enough to cause severe injuries. Without the concrete barrier, the plane would have slid roughly 770 m (2,526 ft) before stopping, the lawmaker's press release said.
The analysis also found that if the navigation facility had been mounted on a breakable support rather than a solid concrete mound, the jet could have breached a perimeter fence with only minor injuries to those on board, according to the release. The structure, built in 1999, reportedly did not meet international safety standards and had been previously flagged as unsafe.
Official Responses And Investigation Status
Kim's office declined to release the full report. Korea Airports Corp, which operates Muan Airport, said it could not comment until investigators publish final findings. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The structural-focused simulation does not yet constitute a final official accident determination. A complete investigative report remains pending public disclosure after authorities missed a one-year deadline to release a progress update. Muan Airport has been closed since the crash and is not scheduled to reopen until April.
Families Demand Accountability
Families of victims and opposition politicians have intensified calls for accountability and transparency. A representative of the victims' family association told Reuters the simulation was "solid proof that the disaster was man-made" and said families were demanding an apology from the investigation board for withholding the analysis.
Investigators previously reported that both engines sustained bird strikes in a preliminary report issued in January. In a July update that was not released publicly because of objections from victims' families, investigators said the pilots shut down the less-damaged engine after the bird strikes.
South Korea's parliament has opened its own inquiry into the crash and its aftermath amid continuing pressure for greater transparency. (Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Ed Davies and Jamie Freed)
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