Jeju Air Flight 2216 didn't have to end with such a catastrophe.
Early on December 29th, the sunny Boeing 737-800 on Sunday morning made an emergency landing in the stomach at Muang International Airport in South Korea. The aircraft slipped through the edge of the runway, hitting concrete structures, and exploded into flames. Of the 181 passengers and crew members, 179 died.
Runway excursions have been one of the most common types of aviation accidents for years when aircraft overrun or degenerate the runway while landing or taking off. However, in the majority of cases, the plane will be safely stopped. This is partially preserved by the zone around the runway, which appears to contain only frangible structures, designed to easily break on impact.
The New York Times analyzed information on more than 500 runway excursions and found 41 dead. In 2010, 158 people died when a flight in India overrunned the runway and fell into the canyon. However, data compiled by the non-profit Flight Safety Foundation showed that no runway excursions were close to the death toll at Muang Airport.
Accidents where planes crashed into fragile structures at the end of the runway tended to be non-fatal.
The story behind why reinforced concrete structures stood near the runway showcases years of vulnerability in the world's air transport. The UN Aviation Safety Agency will issue recommendations to avoid obstacles in areas near the airport runway. However, it is up to the national regulator and private companies to manage airports and interpret, implement and oversee compliance with these standards.
The Times' inquiry to airport regulators in more than 20 countries revealed conflicts as to how it interprets standards issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency.
Since the Jeju Air crash, International Air Group has urged airport operators to look into the areas surrounding the runway, and many countries have been conducting inspections.
In South Korea, authorities discovered safety violations at seven of the country's 14 airports, and there were structures that could damage planes that overshoot or turn from the runway.
Safety analysts say such an accident doesn't have to lead to disasters.
“Overrunning runs happen and happen frequently,” says Hassanshahidi, president of the Alexandria, Virginia-based Flight Safety Foundation.
On Wednesday, the South Korean government said it would replace concrete and other hard structures with “lightweight steel that houses navigation equipment” and complete work at Muang Airport by the end of August and other airports by the end of the year.
More than four months after the crash, authorities continue to investigate the cause of the emergency landing in Jeju flights. Preliminary findings suggest that when the plane approaches the airport, the birds have led to the pilot losing control. It remains unclear why the plane's landing gear could not be deployed, or why the wing flap wasn't involved, limiting the pilot's ability to slow the plane.
However, experts interviewed by The Times widely agreed that the concrete structure near the edge of the runway played a devastating role in the fatal consequences of the accident.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommends that airports have a “runway end safety area.” In these zones, all structures that have been a problem with the Korean crash crash must be designed to be easily broken with impact.
In Muang, a relatively small airport in the southwest of the country, this structure was the mount of an antenna array that provided radio guidance to the aircraft for landing. These arrays, known as localizers, are generally located near airport runways.
In 2020, renovations to Muang's localizer mount were approved by the Korean Airport Corporation, a state-owned enterprise that oversees the country's airports, and was completed in early 2024. The balm covered the concrete pillars supporting the antenna.
Aviation safety regulators outside of Korea said the localizer could have been placed on top of the BERM to ensure strong signals. The concrete base may be designed to protect the localizer from harsh weather such as snow and typhoons. However, some of them said they were shocked that local governments had approved the construction of such a structure.
In January, the former president of the Airport Corporation, who had been appointed during a renovation at Muang International Airport, passed away in what local police called an obvious suicide.
In an interview, local experts said that national regulations based on ICAO standards for runway safety areas are very vague.
In Korea, a law known as the Airport Facilities Act provides a framework for airport safety standards. It was drawn in part from the recommendations by the ICAO, but there is no specificity of the problem, such as how to build a barrier near the impact-breaking runway, said Hyosekchan, an assistant professor at the Department of Air Transport and Logistics at Hanseo University.
“It's difficult to find specific details about the required strength level or exact structural specifications for the localizer mount,” Chan said. “There are no regulations in South Korea that explicitly state that concrete cannot be used,” he added.
Shortly after the Jeju Air Force, South Korean officials said the antenna at Muang Airport, about 866 feet from the edge of the runway, was compliant with safe regulations. However, in subsequent times they acknowledged that they needed to check the placement and design of the barrier.
In early April, the Korea Airport Corporation announced plans to officially begin improvement work at seven airports where navigation aids are not installed in accordance with safety standards, making improvements in Muang a top priority.
Damage runway overrun accidents like Muang Airport have spurred changes to regulations in the past.
In the US, an American Airlines plane landed in Arkansas in 1999 tore the plane and killed 11 people before tightening safety standards for the area surrounding the runway.
At most large airports in the US, the FAA recommends that structures within 1,000 feet of the edge of the runway be vigorous. The UN ICAO recommends a minimum safety area of 295 feet or 787 feet based on factors including runway length.
With complete information about accidents that have caused aircraft injuries, deaths, or serious damage over the past 15 years, the Flight Safety Foundation database contains hundreds of cases showing that runway overruns have far fewer catastrophic consequences.
In October 2022, Korean Airlines 631 covered the runway at Mactan Cebu International Airport in the Philippines. Amid heavy rain, the Airbus A330-322 slid down the runway and attacked the localizer mount. The plane continued through the structure before stopping over 700 feet from the edge of the runway. All 173 passengers and crew survived, and it was found that a metal structure fitted with a localizer was wrapped around the plane's wings.
The severity of an aviation accident is determined by a unique set of frequently and complex situations, and the dangers of the airport, such as sudden drop-offs at the edge of the runway, make it difficult to accurately compare the accidents.
After the Jeju disaster, some countries are investigating the safety of localizer structures at airports. Japanese officials have confirmed that the localizer structure near the runway is sufficiently weakened. In Taiwan, airport regulators said they will soon implement similar checks across the airport.
Other groups are waiting to see the results of their ongoing investigation into Jeju Air's collisions.
Regulators, including the UK's Civil Aviation Authority, said they would closely investigate crash investigations for lessons to follow at airports. The ICAO said in a statement that the results of investigations such as South Korea informed an ongoing review of its technical standards while it was only the sovereign authorities to implement that standard.
In South Korea, government officials say they will spend around $178 million over the next three years to fix issues that include problematic localizer structures at the country's airports. Officials said Wednesday that all airports must meet ICAO standards for safety areas that are extended at least 787 feet. Airports with limited space must install materials called engineering materials arrest systems, which could slow or stop planes running from the runway.
Sand Kim, former South Korean deputy minister for civil aviation who served as ICAO's ambassador, urged international regulators to learn from Jeju Air clashes.
“Many lives were lost in the Muang crisis,” Kim said. “To prevent similar accidents, all countries need to voluntarily inspect the localizer's residential structure.”
In an ideal world, regulators would implement consistent safety standards at airports around the world, Kim said. But in reality, he said, large international airports often prioritize safety checks over small, less visited items like Muang.
