Latest news with #JejuAir
Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
Initial probe into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The initial results of an investigation into December's devastating Jeju Air crash in South Korea showed that, while the plane's both engines sustained bird strikes, its pilots turned off the less-damaged one just before its crash-landing. The finding, which implied human errors, drew quick, vehement protests from bereaved families and fellow pilots who accuse authorities of trying to shift responsibility for the disaster to the dead pilots. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board initially planned to publicize the results of an investigation of the plane's engines on Saturday. But it was forced to cancel its press briefing in the face of strong protests by relatives of crash victims who were informed of the findings earlier in the day, according to government officials and bereaved families. 'If they want to say their investigation was done in a reliable, independent manner, they should have come up with evidence that backs up their explanation,' said Kim Yu-jin, head of an association of bereaved families. 'None of us resent the pilots.' The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air landed on its belly without its land gear deployed at South Korea's southern Muan International Airport on Dec. 29. It overshoot a runaway, slammed into a concrete structure and burst into flames. It was the deadliest disaster in South Korea's aviation history in decades, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Investigation signals pilots turned off a wrong engine According to a copy of an unpublished briefing report obtained by The Associated Press, a South Korean-led multilateral investigation team said it found no defects in the plane's engines built by France's Safran and GE. The report said thorough examinations of the engines found the plane's right engine suffered more serious internal damage following bird strikes as it was engulfed with big fires and black smoke. But the pilots switched off the plane's left engine, the report said citing probes on the cockpit voice recorder, the flight data recorder and the engines examinations. Officials earlier said the black boxes of the Boeing jetliner stopped recording about four minutes before the accident, complicating investigations into the cause of the disaster. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder cited in the briefing report refers to data stored before the recording stopped. The report didn't say why the pilots shut off the less-damaged engine and stopped short of saying whether it was an error by the pilots. Bereaved families, fellow pilots slam the probe Bereaved families and pilots at Jeju Air and other airlines lambasted the investigation findings, saying authorities must disclose the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. 'We, the 6,500 pilots at civilian airlines, can't contain our seething anger against the preposterous argument by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board that lost neutrality,' the Korean Pilot Unions Alliance said in a statement Tuesday. Unionized pilots at Jeju Air also issued a statement urging authorities to present scientific evidence to show the plane should have landed normally if it flew with the less-damaged engine. The latest report focused only on engine issues and didn't mention other factors that could also be blamed for the crash. Among them is the concrete structure the plane crashed into. It housed a set of antennas called localizers designed to guide aircraft safely during landings, and many analysts say it should have been made with more easily breakable materials. Some pilots say they suspect the government wouldn't want to mainly and prominently blame the localizers or bird strikes for mass deaths as the Muan airport is under direct management of the Transport Ministry. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board and the Transport Ministry have offered no public response to the criticism. They said they also won't publicly discuss the engine investigations to respect demands by bereaved families. A person familiar with the investigation told the AP that authorities are looking at the localizers and other issues like whether air traffic controllers relayed the danger of bird strikes to the pilots swiftly enough and what emergency training Jeju Air offered to pilots. The person, who requested anonymity citing the sensitive nature of the investigation, said authorities earlier planned to publicize the results of probes after reviewing various issues, but changed the plan and tried to release the outcome of engine investigations at the request of bereaved families. He said authorities don't intend to lay the responsibility for the disaster to the pilots. Authorities aim to publish the investigation's final results by next June, the person said. But Kwon Bo Hun, dean of Aeronautics College at the Far East University in South Korea, called the government's planned announcement 'clumsy' because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated 'emotional parts of us that the investigation puts the whole blame on dead people.' A former Transport Ministry-turned-university professor reached by the AP said the engine investigation report must be 'reliable' as it's based on an analysis of cockpit voice and flight data recorders that 'don't lie.' He spoke on condition of anonymity citing the delicate nature of the issue.
NDTV
4 hours ago
- General
- NDTV
Jeju Air Crash Initial Probe Suggests Pilot Error, Victims' Families Protest
Seoul: The initial results of an investigation into December's devastating Jeju Air crash in South Korea showed that, while the plane's both engines sustained bird strikes, its pilots turned off the less-damaged one just before its crash-landing. The finding, which implied human errors, drew quick, vehement protests from bereaved families and fellow pilots who accuse authorities of trying to shift responsibility for the disaster to the dead pilots. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board initially planned to publicize the results of an investigation of the plane's engines on Saturday. But it was forced to cancel its press briefing in the face of strong protests by relatives of crash victims who were informed of the findings earlier in the day, according to government officials and bereaved families. "If they want to say their investigation was done in a reliable, independent manner, they should have come up with evidence that backs up their explanation," said Kim Yu-jin, head of an association of bereaved families. "None of us resent the pilots." The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air landed on its belly without its land gear deployed at South Korea's southern Muan International Airport on Dec. 29. It overshoot a runaway, slammed into a concrete structure and burst into flames. It was the deadliest disaster in South Korea's aviation history in decades, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. According to a copy of an unpublished briefing report obtained by The Associated Press, a South Korean-led multilateral investigation team said it found no defects in the plane's engines built by France's Safran and GE. The report said thorough examinations of the engines found the plane's right engine suffered more serious internal damage following bird strikes as it was engulfed with big fires and black smoke. But the pilots switched off the plane's left engine, the report said citing probes on the cockpit voice recorder, the flight data recorder and the engines examinations. Officials earlier said the black boxes of the Boeing jetliner stopped recording about four minutes before the accident, complicating investigations into the cause of the disaster. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder cited in the briefing report refers to data stored before the recording stopped. The report didn't say why the pilots shut off the less-damaged engine and stopped short of saying whether it was an error by the pilots. Bereaved families and pilots at Jeju Air and other airlines lambasted the investigation findings, saying authorities must disclose the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. "We, the 6,500 pilots at civilian airlines, can't contain our seething anger against the preposterous argument by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board that lost neutrality," the Korean Pilot Unions Alliance said in a statement Tuesday. Unionized pilots at Jeju Air also issued a statement urging authorities to present scientific evidence to show the plane should have landed normally if it flew with the less-damaged engine. The latest report focused only on engine issues and didn't mention other factors that could also be blamed for the crash. Among them is the concrete structure the plane crashed into. It housed a set of antennas called localizers designed to guide aircraft safely during landings, and many analysts say it should have been made with more easily breakable materials. Some pilots say they suspect the government wouldn't want to mainly and prominently blame the localizers or bird strikes for mass deaths as the Muan airport is under direct management of the Transport Ministry. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board and the Transport Ministry have offered no public response to the criticism. They said they also won't publicly discuss the engine investigations to respect demands by bereaved families. A person familiar with the investigation told the AP that authorities are looking at the localizers and other issues like whether air traffic controllers relayed the danger of bird strikes to the pilots swiftly enough and what emergency training Jeju Air offered to pilots. The person, who requested anonymity citing the sensitive nature of the investigation, said authorities earlier planned to publicize the results of probes after reviewing various issues, but changed the plan and tried to release the outcome of engine investigations at the request of bereaved families. He said authorities don't intend to lay the responsibility for the disaster to the pilots. Authorities aim to publish the investigation's final results by next June, the person said. But Kwon Bo Hun, dean of Aeronautics College at the Far East University in South Korea, called the government's planned announcement "clumsy" because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated "emotional parts of us that the investigation puts the whole blame on dead people." A former Transport Ministry-turned-university professor reached by the AP said the engine investigation report must be "reliable" as it's based on an analysis of cockpit voice and flight data recorders that "don't lie." He spoke on condition of anonymity citing the delicate nature of the issue.
Euronews
7 hours ago
- Euronews
Initial probe into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error
The initial results of an investigation into December's devastating Jeju Air crash in South Korea showed that while both of the plane's engines sustained bird strikes, the pilots turned off the less-damaged one just before its crash-landing. The findings on Tuesday, which implied human error, quickly sparked vehement protests from bereaved families and fellow pilots who accused authorities of trying to shift responsibility for the disaster to the deceased pilots. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board initially planned to publicise the results of the investigation of the plane's engines on Saturday. But it was forced to cancel its press briefing in the face of strong protests by relatives of crash victims who were informed of the findings earlier in the day, according to government officials. "If they want to say their investigation was done in a reliable, independent manner, they should have come up with evidence that backs up their explanation," said Kim Yu-jin, head of an association of bereaved families. "None of us resent the pilots." According to a copy of an unpublished briefing report obtained by the AP news agency, a South Korean-led multilateral investigation team said it found no defects in the plane's engines built by France's Safran and GE. The report said thorough examinations of the engines found the plane's right engine suffered more serious internal damage following bird strikes as it was engulfed by fire. But the pilots switched off the plane's left engine, the report said citing probes on the cockpit voice recorder, the flight data recorder and examinations of both engines. Officials earlier said the black boxes of the Boeing jetliner stopped recording about four minutes before the accident, complicating investigations into the cause of the disaster. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder cited in the briefing report refers to data stored before the recording stopped. The report didn't say why the pilots shut off the less-damaged engine and stopped short of saying whether it was an error by the pilots. Bereaved families slam the probe Bereaved families and pilots at Jeju Air and other airlines blasted the investigation findings, saying authorities must disclose the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. "We, the 6,500 pilots at civilian airlines, can't contain our seething anger against the preposterous argument by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board that lost neutrality," the Korean Pilot Unions Alliance said in a statement Tuesday. Unionised pilots at Jeju Air also issued a statement urging authorities to present scientific evidence to show the plane should have landed normally if it flew with the less-damaged engine. The latest report focused only on engine issues and didn't mention other factors that could also be blamed for the crash. Among them is the concrete structure the plane crashed into. It housed a set of antennas called localisers designed to guide aircraft safely during landings and many analysts say it should have been made with more easily breakable materials. Some pilots say they suspect the government wouldn't want to mainly blame the localisers or bird strikes for mass deaths as Muan Airport is under direct management of the Transport Ministry. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board and the Transport Ministry have offered no public response to the criticism. They said they also won't publicly discuss the engine investigations to respect demands by bereaved families. Authorities aim to publish the investigation's final results by next June, a person familiar with the investigation said. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air landed on its belly without its landing gear deployed at South Korea's southern Muan International Airport on 29 December. It overshot the runaway, slammed into a concrete structure and burst into flames. It was the deadliest disaster in South Korea's aviation history in decades, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
New Indian Express
10 hours ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Initial probe into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families
SEOUL: The initial results of an investigation into December's devastating Jeju Air crash in South Korea showed that, while the plane's both engines sustained bird strikes, its pilots turned off the less-damaged one just before its crash-landing. The finding, which implied human errors, drew quick, vehement protests from bereaved families and fellow pilots who accuse authorities of trying to shift responsibility for the disaster to the dead pilots. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board initially planned to publicize the results of an investigation of the plane's engines on Saturday. But it was forced to cancel its press briefing in the face of strong protests by relatives of crash victims who were informed of the findings earlier in the day, according to government officials and bereaved families. 'If they want to say their investigation was done in a reliable, independent manner, they should have come up with evidence that backs up their explanation,' said Kim Yu-jin, head of an association of bereaved families. 'None of us resent the pilots.' The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air landed on its belly without its land gear deployed at South Korea's southern Muan International Airport on Dec. 29. It overshoot a runaway, slammed into a concrete structure and burst into flames. It was the deadliest disaster in South Korea's aviation history in decades, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
Observer
11 hours ago
- Observer
Jeju Air crash families denounce report blaming pilot
Seoul - The families of victims of South Korea's deadliest plane crash on home soil have denounced a government report which blamed the disaster on pilot error, a representative told AFP Tuesday. The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to South Korea's southwest on December 29 last year but ended up belly-landing at Muan airport and exploding in a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier, killing 179 people. South Korea's land ministry told AFP it had planned to release the partial findings of the investigation into the crash at the weekend but called off a briefing and withheld the report after the families objected, claiming it could be misleading. The report said a bird strike damaged the plane's right engine but the pilot then mistakenly shut down the left engine instead, a representative for the families, who saw the report, told AFP. The error resulted in a total power loss and a failure of the landing gear system, they said. The pilot said: "Let's shut down engine number 2 (the right engine)," but the flight data recorder showed that actually it was the left engine that was shut down, according to the report. "No one has directly seen or heard the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder," Kim Youn-mi, a representative of the victims' families, told AFP. "We weren't given any proper explanation about those things. We need to hear that to know. We have the right," she added. The Jeju Air pilots' union also criticised the report, saying it was "strongly angered" by the findings and would "firmly reject the malicious attempt to shift blame onto the pilot". The findings were part of an ongoing probe by South Korean and US investigators, who are still investigating the cause of the disaster. A bird strike -- feathers and bloodstains were found in both engines -- a faulty landing gear, and the runway barrier are among the possible issues. The final report is planned to be released in June next year.
