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SOUTH KOREAN AUTHORITIES have said they will change the concrete barriers used for navigation at airports around the country after the Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people.
The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan, South Korea on 29 December carrying 181 passengers and crew when it belly-landed at Muan airport and exploded in a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.
It was the worst-ever aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
“Improvement was deemed necessary including the localiser and its foundations for a total of nine facilities across seven airports, including Muan airport,” the land ministry said in a statement.
The changes would also apply to international airports in the cities of Jeju and Gimhae.
South Korean and US investigators are still probing the cause of the crash, which prompted a national outpouring of mourning with memorials set up across the country.
Attention has focused on several possible causes but questions have been raised about why the concrete barricade, known as a localiser and used to help planes navigate their landings, was at the end of the runway.
The barrier at Muan airport was blamed for exacerbating the crash’s severity.
The ministry said it would finalise plans to adapt the localisers by the end of January, with the aim of “completing upgrades within this year”.
The investigation was further clouded on Saturday when the transport ministry said the black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the crashed flight stopped recording four minutes before the disaster.
Authorities have raided offices at Muan airport, a regional aviation office in the southwestern county, and Jeju Air’s office in the capital Seoul as the probe continues.
The land ministry added that Muan airport’s closure period had been extended until 19 January.
© AFP 2025
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Anyone wondering why comments are closed on so many articles, the comments on this article are why. Not one including mine has anything to do with the article. It’s ridiculous the journal no longer moderates the site at all..
@Ger Whelan: they are many friends here make mischief
@Ger Whelan: all the usual multi account trolls / agenda driven and spewing out the usual dirt and talking to themselves, so blatant it’s crazy.
@Ger Whelan: That isn’t the reason.
@Chop Chop: What is the reason Ger??
And who is going to jail for this incompetence
@Trump24: well if the pilots were alive it should be them, total incompetence on their behalf, a 9,000ft runway to land on and they landed 4,000ft down it and the aircraft impacted the localiser another 1,000ft passed the runway end. After 3,000ft of runway beyond the TDZ the aircraft should have well been established on a go-around to assess the situation and use gravity gear extension instead of just planting her in and hoping for the best.
@John Doe: You have no idea what happened up there, what controls they had and what they faced in the cockpit to make such a comment
@John Doe: Are you a pilot ?
@Regular John: not anymore, retired, still hold a PPL(A), left the industry 2 years ago for pastures anew.
@John Doe: a pilot my a55, pull the other one
Trump24, all the Doe accounts, Tired Jim are the same far-right racist troll FYI
@Dave G Doe: still not denying it. You think we don’t see you. I’ll be telling people what you are wherever you pop up
@Franno: you do good work
It wasn’t a concrete barrier, it was an earth embankment with a localiser beacon on top:
I think some media outlets are calling it a concreted barrier as they got confused with the airport’s perimeter cinder block wall, but the wall was after the earth embankment that the plane slammed into.
I will not fly there until fixed
What genius thought it would be a good idea to put a brick wall at the end of the runway!
have your say