"Why Is There a High Mound Here?"... "If It Hadn't Been There, the Passenger Plane Would Have Been in Better Condition"

I've Never Seen a Hill This High at Any Airport
Even a Former British Air Force Aviation Expert Criticizes the 'Hill'

At Jeonnam Muan International Airport, where 179 passengers and crew members died in a Jeju Air passenger plane accident, a high 'dundeok' (embankment) is being mentioned as one of the causes of the accident. Kim In-gyu, Director of the Aviation University Flight Training Center, pointed out, "If the dundeok had not been there, the passenger plane would have remained in a somewhat more intact state than it is now."

On the 30th, Director Kim revealed this on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' saying, "The most puzzling part while watching the accident footage was the dundeok. I have never seen an embankment of this height at any airport."

Resumption of search at the site of the Muan Jeju Air passenger plane disaster. Photo by Yonhap News

Usually, airport outer walls have double fences installed. Some airports even build outer walls entirely of concrete. It is known that a localizer, an antenna that helps guide horizontal direction, was installed on the dundeok. The passenger plane, which attempted a belly landing without being able to lower the wheels in time, failed to reduce speed and collided with the dundeok after veering off the runway.

Director Kim said, "Watching the accident footage, the aircraft collided with the dundeok causing a very large impact, the fuselage broke apart, and a fire immediately broke out," adding, "If the dundeok had not been there, the aircraft could have continued pushing forward and broken through the outer wall." Assuming this, the aircraft might have remained in a somewhat more intact state than it is now.

David Learmount, an aviation expert and former Royal Air Force member, criticized the installation of the dundeok at Muan Airport as "close to a criminal act" in an interview with UK Sky News. David claimed that at the end of the landing roll, the aircraft had no major damage and no fire had occurred, but the collision with the dundeok caused a fire that led to the loss of lives onboard. Director Kim also said, "No other airport in the country has such a feature," and added, "It is questionable why something like this was installed here."

Many opinions consider bird strike as the primary cause of this accident. Director Kim stated, "The direct cause of the explosion and fire was the landing gear not being deployed," emphasizing that the cause of the landing gear failure needs to be examined further. He continued, "It could have been due to a bird strike, or the landing gear might have already been malfunctioning."