Jeju Air "Muan Accident Aircraft Insured for $1 Billion... Doing Our Best to Support Bereaved Families"

"The accident aircraft was inspected before and after departure, and no issues were found."

On the 29th, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway while landing at Muan International Airport, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dead. The forensic investigation team is searching for casualties outside the runway at Muan International Airport, Jeonnam. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Jeju Air stated regarding the Muan Airport passenger plane crash, "The aircraft is covered by a $1 billion (approximately 1.476 trillion KRW) liability insurance policy, and we will do our best to support the bereaved families without any shortage using this insurance." They also added, "We have dispatched 260 employees to the accident site to support the families of the passengers."

Song Kyung-hoon, Head of Management Support at Jeju Air, said during a press briefing related to the accident at the Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, at 6 p.m. on the 29th, "The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the Accident Investigation Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport," and added, "The black boxes containing the voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered, and the cause of the accident will be identified."

When asked whether there had been any prior warnings about bird strikes at Muan Airport, he responded, "Not only at Muan but also at other locations, since it is a period with a lot of migratory birds, we are educating our staff accordingly."

He said, "The aircraft was routinely inspected before and after departure, and there were no issues," and added, "All related information has been submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It would be better to discuss the submitted details during the Ministry’s investigation process rather than here."

At Muan International Airport, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway during landing, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dying. On the 29th, firefighters and forensic investigators were recovering the victims at the runway accident site of Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

He also stated, "All communications between the aircraft and the control tower must be accurately clarified," and added, "It is necessary to understand what was exchanged through the analysis of the recovered black box voice recorder, and analyzing the contents of the recording device will help determine the cause."

Regarding compensation for the bereaved families, Head Song said, "The $1 billion insurance coverage is provided by four companies including Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance," and added, "Methods such as advance payments to the bereaved families have not yet been decided, and it seems premature to discuss individual limits at this time." He continued, "Regarding the possibility that insurance payments may not be received due to airline liability, we will provide further confirmation before commenting."

In response to claims that the aircraft involved in the accident had previously returned to base, he explained, "At that time, the flight departed from Jeju to Beijing, but due to an emergency patient onboard, it returned to Incheon," and clarified, "The November 2022 incident and today’s accident are unrelated."