US Side Dispatches Two Additional Investigators to Muan Site

Considering Accident Severity
On-site Investigation Since the Previous Day

The U.S. side, which is jointly investigating the cause of the Muan Airport Jeju Air passenger plane accident, has reinforced the investigation team.

Firefighters are searching for belongings at the site of the Jeju Air passenger plane collision and explosion accident that occurred at Muan International Airport, Jeonnam, 30 days ago. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 1st, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dispatched two additional investigators to the Muan site that day. As a result, the size of the U.S. investigation team increased to 10 members, including three from the NTSB, one from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and six from the aircraft manufacturer Boeing. It is reported that the U.S. side increased personnel considering the severity of the accident and the need for a multifaceted investigation.

In Korea, 11 accident investigators belonging to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) are participating.

The Korea-U.S. joint investigation team has been conducting a full-scale accident investigation at the Muan site since the previous day. It is also reported that technical advisors from CFMI, the engine manufacturer of the accident aircraft, have joined the investigation.

The investigation team focused primarily on the airport’s azimuth facility (localizer), which collided with the accident aircraft, rather than investigating the aircraft itself on the previous day. The localizer is an essential airport facility that transmits radio signals to aircraft to assist safe landing on the runway, but it has been identified as a cause that increased casualties in this tragedy.

At the time of the accident, the aircraft landed on its fuselage without deploying the landing gear, slid along the runway, and collided with the localizer about 264 meters from the end of the runway, resulting in the aircraft being severely damaged.