ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo / JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2022.10.27 07:48
The recovery work for the Korean Air passenger plane accident that occurred on the 24th (local time) at Cebu Mactan International Airport in the Philippines is proceeding at a rapid pace.
The Philippine government has temporarily reopened an airport that had been closed due to the accident. The Associated Press said on the 25th that the Philippine government temporarily opened Cebu Airport from sunrise to sunset to transport other passengers who were stranded due to the plane crash. It is expected to be reopened,” he said. Cebu Mactan Airport is the second busiest airport in the Philippines, and about 100 international and domestic flights have been canceled due to the accident.
The 11 Korean passengers on board the aircraft arrived at Incheon International Airport on the night of the 25th on a substitute flight of Korean Air. There were 162 passengers on board, including 47 Korean passengers. A Korean Air official said, “114 passengers who were originally scheduled to return home, and 11 passengers who wanted to return home from the accident passenger plane entered the country.”
Philippine authorities are working to clean up the accident at the airport. On the 25th, the work to remove aviation fuel from the accident aircraft was completed. However, we have not yet been able to prepare a large crane that can transport the aircraft, and we have not started transporting the aircraft. The plane involved in the accident was an Airbus A330-300 with a weight of 124 tons. The aircraft is currently about 250 meters from the runway.
The Philippine government and the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are investigating the cause of the accident. During an initial investigation, the pilot of the crashed plane reportedly said, “At the time of landing, the brakes and the anti-lock braking system (ABS) did not work.” The investigative team plans to analyze audio recordings in the cockpit.
Korean tourists who were stranded on Cebu Island due to the accident are also being transferred. However, the Jin Air alternative flight scheduled to arrive at the same airport on the 26th was not able to obtain permission to land at Cebu Airport due to weather deterioration and other factors. Prior to this, a tropical low pressure zone developed near Cebu Island in the Philippines, and school classes were canceled. If the bad weather continues for a long time, there may be delays in transporting South Korean tourists.
On the other hand, after the Cebu airport accident, a photo was spread on social media (SNS) such as Facebook with the title “Cebu crash evacuation site”, but it was confirmed that this was fake news. A photo taken during a simulated emergency evacuation of an aircraft at Incheon Airport in 2014 was shared as a photo of the Cebu airport accident.