'Verging on criminal': South Korea airport authorities face serious questions over plane crash
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Aviation experts have said airport authorities in South Korea should face serious questions over the concrete wall that a plane collided with killing 179 people. Leading air safety expert David Learmount told Sky News the collision with the wall that supported a guidance system at the end of the runway was the "defining moment" of the disaster.
"Not only is there no justification [for it to be there], I think it's verging on criminal to have it there," he said. Live updates: South Korea plane crash. . Witnesses reported seeing large numbers of birds around the runway shortly before the crash and the control tower had warned the pilot of the possibility of a bird strike. A minute later the plane sent out a mayday signal.
When the plane landed on its second attempt at 9.03am, its landing gear was not deployed. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Mr Learmount believes the people on board had a good chance of survival once the pilot had got the plane on to the ground despite travelling at high speed.
"He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground," he said. As it reached the end of the airfield and struck the wall, the plane was almost instantly destroyed.
"That kind of structure should not be there," he said. "That is awful. That is unbelievably awful.". Muan International Airport opened in 2007 and has become a busy regional hub in the south of the country. It is managed by the state-owned Korea Airports Corporation.
