The South Korean government has said it would remove a concrete barrier at the end of a runway at Muan International Airport, the scene of the fatal Jeju Air crash last month, which resulted in the deaths of 179 people.
The Boeing 737-800, en route from Thailand to Muan in the southwest on December 29 with 181 passengers and crew aboard, belly-landed at Muan airport and exploded into a fireball after crashing into a concrete barrier.
It was the worst-ever aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
South Korean and US investigators are still examining the cause of the crash, which led to national mourning, with memorials being set up across the country.
The Ministry of Land said in a statement that “a special safety inspection revealed that improvements are needed for localisers at seven airports around the country”.
These include Muan and Jeju International Airport — a popular tourist hotspot and the country’s second-largest airport, after Incheon which serves the capital Seoul.
The measures include “relocating the foundations underground and replacing them with lightweight steel structures”.
Muan International Airport’s existing concrete mounds will be removed entirely and the localiser will be “reinstalled using breakable structures”.
“This measure prioritises actions requiring immediate attention,” said Transport Minister Park Sang-woo.
“We plan to establish measures for bird strike prevention improvement and an aviation safety innovation plan through further investigations and reviews,” he said.
At the time of the accident, the pilot reported a bird strike before aborting the first landing attempt. The plane crashed during its second attempt when the landing gear failed to deploy.
Feathers were found in both engines, according to South Korean media reports, with a bird strike being examined as one possible cause.
According to the ministry, a comprehensive survey of bird-attracting facilities around airports began on Monday as part of the “bird strike prevention improvement plan”.
The investigation became more complicated when the transport ministry revealed that the black boxes containing the flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped recording four minutes before the crash.
The land ministry said on Saturday that Muan airport’s closure period had been extended three more months until April 18.
