SK orders inspection after runway scare
Print Edition
SOUTH Korean authorities said yesterday they planned an “urgent competence inspection” of Asiana Airlines pilots flying Airbus A320 planes, the day after one of the planes skidded off a runway in Japan.
The Yonhap news agency said the measures will affect 489 pilots, 370 of them with Asiana and the rest with its low-cost subsidiary, Air Busan. The two are the only operators of the A320 based in South Korea.
The Transport Ministry said it has ordered eight South Korean airlines to ensure close safety management.
The Asiana flight skidded off the runway after hitting a transmission device as it landed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Yonhap reported.
Nearly two years ago, an Asiana Boeing 777 crashed in San Francisco when its tail struck a sea wall, killing three people and injuring more than 180.
Aerial footage from Hiroshima airport showed the localizer — a 6-meter-high gate-like structure that sits around 300m from the runway — splintered, with debris spread toward the landing strip.
Sets of wheel marks were visible on the grass area in front of the runway.
Those on board flight OZ162 spoke of terror and confusion.
“There was smoke coming out and some of the oxygen masks fell down. Cabin attendants were in a panic and I thought ‘We are going to die’,” a woman said.
A man said he “saw flames, and smoke filled the plane.”
All 73 passengers and eight crew evacuated safely but 27 were hurt, officials said.
Hiroshima police have started an investigation on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injuries, Jiji Press said.
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