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Business Standard
20 hours ago
- General
- Business Standard
Probe into S Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families
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 publicise 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 Investigation signals pilots turned off a wrong engine According to a copy of an unpublished briefing report obtained by The Associated Press, a South Korean-led multilateral investigation team said it found no defects in the plane's engines built by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 investigation 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 investigation 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. Kwon Bo Hun, dean of Aeronautics College at the Far East University in South Korea, called the engine investigation report clumsy because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated emotional parts of us" as the investigation raised suspicions that it puts the whole blame on the dead pilots. 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.
Korea Herald
20 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Was pilot error to blame? Jeju Air crash investigation sparks controversy
Provisional findings suggest pilot may have mistakenly switched off wrong engine A recent government analysis suggests that the pilot involved in the fatal Jeju Air crash last December at Muan Airport in South Jeolla Province may have made a critical error by shutting down the left engine, which was intact, instead of the right engine damaged by a bird strike. However, the preliminary findings have sparked an outcry from the victims' families and the pilots' labor union at Jeju Air. They argue that the report unfairly places blame on the pilot, who died in the crash, before the investigation is complete. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, had planned to announce the interim results of its probe into the deadly crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216, which claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 passengers and crew onboard. But the announcement was canceled following a strong backlash from the bereaved families, who say the report overlooks other contributing factors. According to preliminary findings, a bird strike caused severe damage to Flight 2216's right engine. Despite this, the pilot reportedly shut down the left engine, which was undamaged. If confirmed, this would indicate that pilot error contributed, at least in part, to the crash. The plane landed on its belly, without the landing gear deployed. It skidded off the runway, collided with an embanked structure and exploded in flames. The investigation board told local media that shutting off the engine likely cut power to the system responsible for deploying the landing gear. Report not final, but complaints over 'bias' The conclusion of the ongoing investigation is expected by June 2026, when the final report will be made public. However, the bereaved families claim the investigative board was vague about the grounds for its preliminary findings, arguing that it unfairly implies that the main cause was human error. They said the report does not cover other crucial factors suspected to have led to the tragedy, like a potential defect in the aircraft or the presence of the earthen berm supporting the localizers that the plane crashed into. The berm had concrete structures inside, which is suspected to have led to a more destructive impact, causing the explosion and fire that led to the high casualty rate. One member of the family group said that when he asked the ARAIB about the integrated drive generator, a crucial unit inside the aircraft engine, the board said it was still under investigation. Kim Yu-jin, the head of the bereaved families' group, urged the ARAIB to provide detailed explanations in the report and to provide additional materials for every point of controversy. The full details of the report have not yet been made public, as a protest by victims' families during an unofficial briefing led to the cancellation of Saturday's planned press briefing. The ARAIB has denied the accusations of bias, saying that its findings are based on inspections of the engines and the flight data recorder. It said an investigation into whether the airport berm exacerbated the tragedy is still ongoing, with the results due as soon as late August.
Mint
20 hours ago
- General
- Mint
Investigation into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families
SEOUL, South Korea — 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 investigation to respect demands by bereaved families. A person familiar with the investigation told the 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 investigation 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. Kwon Bo Hun, dean of Aeronautics College at the Far East University in South Korea, called the engine investigation report 'clumsy' because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated 'emotional parts of us" as the investigation raised suspicions that it puts the whole blame on the dead pilots. A former Transport Ministry-turned-university professor reached by the 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.
The Hindu
21 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
Investigation into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families
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 accused 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 publicise 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. Also Read | Ahmedabad Air India flight crash: Fuel control switches 'transitioned' to cutoff position after take off, says interim probe '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 landing gear deployed at South Korea's southern Muan International Airport on Dec 29. It overshot 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 the 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 investigation 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 publicise the results of probes after reviewing various issues, but changed the plan and tried to release the outcome of the engine investigation at the request of bereaved families. He said authorities don't intend to place the responsibility for the disaster to the pilots. Authorities aim to publish the investigation's final results by next June, the person said. Kwon Bo Hun, dean of Aeronautics College at the Far East University in South Korea, called the engine investigation report 'clumsy' because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated 'emotional parts of us" as the investigation raised suspicions that it puts the whole blame on the dead pilots. 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.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Investigation into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families
An investigation into the Jeju Air crash in South Korea revealed that pilots may have turned off the less-damaged engine after bird strikes, sparking outrage from families and fellow pilots. They accuse authorities of shifting blame onto the deceased. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 investigation 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 investigation at the request of bereaved families. He said authorities don't intend to lay the responsibility for the disaster to the aim to publish the investigation's final results by next June, the person Bo Hun, dean of Aeronautics College at the Far East University in South Korea, called the engine investigation report "clumsy" because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated "emotional parts of us" as the investigation raised suspicions that it puts the whole blame on the dead pilots.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.
