{"id":185261,"date":"2026-03-10T13:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/?p=185261"},"modified":"2026-03-11T11:53:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:53:50","slug":"airport-infrastructure-cost-cutting-behind-jeju-air-tragedy-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2026\/03\/airport-infrastructure-cost-cutting-behind-jeju-air-tragedy-in-south-korea.html","title":{"rendered":"Airport Infrastructure Cost-Cutting Behind Jeju Air Tragedy in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A state report reveals that the construction of a concrete structure, originally designed to reduce expenses, was the determining factor in the deaths of 179 people following the emergency landing of <strong>Jeju Air Flight 2216<\/strong>. The investigation emphasizes that the accident, which occurred in December 2024, could have been avoided if international safety regulations had been followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Details of Flight 2216 Accident<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jeju Air Flight 2216 was on final approach to Muan International Airport, arriving from Thailand, when it struck a flock of birds. This bird strike forced the crew to perform a <strong>belly landing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the pilots successfully touched down and managed to slide the aircraft along the runway, the plane erupted into a fireball after colliding with a concrete structure embedded within a mound at the end of the runway. The impact proved fatal for nearly all occupants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fatalities:<\/strong> 179 people lost their lives in the crash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Survivors:<\/strong> Only two flight attendants, who were seated in the tail section, managed to survive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Concrete Structure: A Fatal Economic Decision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>South Korea&#8217;s <strong>Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI)<\/strong> determined in its report that the structure responsible for the tragedy was built by the Ministry of Transport with the objective of &#8220;reducing costs&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2026\/03\/12-years-without-answers-new-search-for-mh370-wreckage-concludes-without-success.html\">12 Years Without Answers: New Search for MH370 Wreckage Concludes Without Success<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Avoidance of Earthworks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The terrain where the runway and the <strong>Runway End Safety Area (RESA)<\/strong> were constructed featured a steep slope. Instead of leveling the area\u2014which would have required significant earthworks and a larger financial outlay\u2014officials opted to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Install the navigation antenna system, known as the <strong>localizer<\/strong>, on an elevated concrete structure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce the volume of necessary earthmoving through this method.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Compensate for the height difference with the highest point of the runway by constructing an embankment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Violation of Aviation Safety Regulations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>International aviation safety guidelines are strict regarding navigation facilities located near runways. According to these standards, such facilities must be constructed using <strong>frangible materials<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A government-commissioned simulation published earlier this year yielded conclusive results regarding the preventability of the deaths:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Total Survival:<\/strong> All passengers would have survived if the localizer antenna system had not been supported by the concrete structure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Non-Severe Impact:<\/strong> Had the localizers utilized a frangible structure, the impact would not have been severe enough to cause serious injuries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stopping Distance:<\/strong> The study determined that, in the absence of runway obstacles, the aircraft would have slid approximately 770 meters before coming to a complete stop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The BAI report highlights that prioritizing budgetary savings over technical safety standards transformed a controllable incident into 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Between Rome and Santo Domingo<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class='uagb-post__text uagb-post-grid-byline'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-post__text uagb-post__cta wp-block-button\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wp-block-button__link uagb-text-link\" style=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2026\/04\/ita-airways-expands-intercontinental-network-with-new-direct-route-between-rome-and-santo-domingo.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Read More<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A state report reveals that the construction of a concrete structure, originally designed to reduce expenses, was the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":4316,"featured_media":170284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[191],"tags":[230,195,465,1114],"class_list":{"0":"post-185261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-incidents-and-accidents","8":"tag-airline","9":"tag-airport","10":"tag-asia-2","11":"tag-jeju-air-2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-300x150.jpg",300,150,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-768x384.jpg",768,384,true],"large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"pk-small":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",80,40,false],"pk-thumbnail":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",300,150,false],"csco-small":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-80x80.jpg",80,80,true],"csco-intermediate":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-200x140.jpg",200,140,true],"csco-thumbnail":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-380x220.jpg",380,220,true],"csco-thumbnail-alternative":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-300x180.jpg",300,180,true],"csco-thumbnail-uncropped":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-380x190.jpg",380,190,true],"csco-medium":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-medium-alternative":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air-560x336.jpg",560,336,true],"csco-medium-uncropped":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-large-uncropped":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-extra-large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Accidente-Jeju-Air.jpg",800,400,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Redacci\u00f3n - Aviaci\u00f3n al D\u00eda","author_link":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/author\/aad"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A state report reveals that the construction of a concrete structure, originally designed to reduce expenses, was the&hellip;","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185261"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":185262,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185261\/revisions\/185262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}