South Korea to remove airport concrete walls after deadly Jeju Air crash
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The runway design has been criticised as failing to meet safety standards. South Korea will remove concrete embankments from airports after the county’s deadliest domestic air disaster. The wall installed at Muan International Airport will be removed following December’s Jeju Air crash that killed almost 200 people.
![[The wreckage of a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air lies at Muan International Airport]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/31/10/South_Korea_Plane_Fire_67495.jpg)
It is reported South Korea will also change the barriers at nine airports in total across the country. While investigators are still probing what caused Jeju Air flight 7C2216 to crash, including reported bird strikes, experts have said the massive berm that supported navigation antennas at the end of the runway likely made the disaster more deadly than it might have been otherwise.
![[A message of condolences and foods are seen outside of Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Tuesday, December 31]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/31/10/South_Korea_Plane_Fire_01056.jpg)
The December 29 crash killed a total 179 people, with only two crew members seated near the rear of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft surviving. Video footage showed the passenger jet slamming into the structure and exploding after landing at high speed without gear down and skidding past the end of the runway.
The runway design has also been criticised as failing to meet safety standards, prompting authorities to extend post-runway safety zones that are free of major obstacles. In some of the first widespread reforms announced since the crash, authorities said they will make new foundations or other adjustments for similar antennas at seven airports including Muan and Jeju International Airport - one of South Korea‘s busiest - that are either below ground level or easy to break.
