South Korea airport bosses KNEW wall was ‘too close to runway’ before jet flew into ‘bird zone’ and crashed killing 179
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BOSSES of the South Korean airline whose plane crashed allegedly knew that the concrete wall it smashed into was too close to the runway. The Boeing 737-800 was thought to have been struck by a bird in one of its engines before it failed to lower landing gear and skidded across the runway, smashing into the wall and imploding.
![[The plane smashed into a concrete embankment before blowing up]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/175-passengers-crashes-muan-international-960329030.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
All but two of the 181 people onboard tragically died in the horrific smash, one of South Korea's worst ever aviation disasters. The enormous Jeju Air jet belly-landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday before ploughing into the sand and concrete embankment.
![[One of the survivors of the disaster being taken to hospital]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/passenger-rescued-aircraft-drove-off-960290550.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Comments in the airport's operating manual - uploaded early this year - said the embankment was too close to the end of the runway. It recommended that the equipment location be reviewed during a planned expansion project at the airport, Reuters reports.
![[A police forensic team conducts an on-site investigation at the scene of the crash]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/yonhap-newcom-alamy-live-news-960728376.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
A Korean transport ministry official said today that officials would have to examine the manual before answering questions. Captain Ross Aimer, chief executive of Aero Consulting Experts, told the news agency: "Unfortunately, that thing was the reason that everybody got killed, because they literally hit a concrete structure.
"It shouldn't have been there.". Authorities are scrambling to discover the cause of the crash and work out exactly why the pilot attempted to land after declaring an emergency. Meanwhile loved ones of those who died in the accident have been camped out at the airport waiting for news.
![[Black smoke and flames pouring from the wreckage]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/371ea73c-5717-4687-8fad-cb26b94df843_0f2a4e.jpg?strip=all&w=604)
