Muan Jeju Air plane crash...28 killed.

■ Host: Cho Jin-hyuk Anchor
■ Telephone connection: Lee Young-joo, professor of the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at University of Seoul University,

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN NEWSY] when quoting.

[Anchor]
Here, we will connect Muan Airport plane accident experts to find out more. Professor Lee Young-joo came out on two tasks: party management and state stability. How are you? Did you see the scene of the accident, professor?

[Lee Young-joo]
I saw it through the press release of the accident scene.

[Anchor]
I'd like you to summarize the accident. At around 9:07 a.m., the aircraft that was breastfeeding at Muan International Airport left the runway. How did you like it?

[Lee Young-joo]
I'm also getting in touch with the accident through the report. We'll need to check later on what kind of abnormality the aircraft we're trying to land is probably in.Ma left the runway without landing properly, and the departing aircraft shocked the fence, leading to a fire explosion. So, if you look at the reported videos, it seems that the explosion was cut off to some extent, and a lot of victims are expected to occur. The casualties are now officially known as 23.If Ma is additionally counted, it is known that there were about 175 people on the aircraft at the time. Therefore, casualties are expected to increase further in the process of checking later.

[Anchor]
In summary, it's Jeju Air flight 7C2216 that left Bangkok, Thailand, early this morning and was arriving at Muan International Airport. Here, it is known that there were six crew members and 175 passengers on board. And as you can see on the screen, a fire broke out after the collision, and the fire authorities are working on the rescue. Professor, our reporter reported that the landing did not appear to have been done properly because the landing gear did not come down. What possibilities can we think of in this process?

[Lee Young-joo]
Basically, the fact that the landing gear has not come down can confirm device defects and maintenance-related problems. Anyway, in order for the aircraft to land, the landing gear and the wheels must be ready to get off the runway, but this part is assumed to have not worked properly. So, if you land while it's not working, in a nutshell, the fuselage, the body of the airplane, causes friction on the floor, and it's not a crash, but it's a situation where you land with the fuselage. If this happens, it seems that the aircraft has left the runway without proper direction or steering due to the speed and friction of the aircraft coming down.

On the other hand, in the process of friction, a fire or explosion may occur due to impact, or these parts may lead to fire due to frictional heat, so we will investigate the cause of the fire later.In any case, there is a possibility that there will be a lot of casualties at the moment, which may have already occurred.Ma is likely to do so, so I think it's a time to focus more on saving lives or extinguishing fires on the spot.

[Anchor]
We're telling you in subtitles.Ma is estimated to have 28 deaths. If so, according to the professor, it seems that an accident occurred during the emergency landing process, that is, while landing without landing gear. If so, the airplane pilot recognized that the landing gear did not come out and the accident occurred while attempting to land the fuselage, or emergency landing, can you estimate it like this?

[Lee Young-joo]
It can be seen that way with the current situation. In any case, it is necessary to look closely at these issues, such as communication with the control room and the airplane pilot during the investigation process later. So the parts of whether there was a time zone where these parts could actually rise again without landing. Or whether it was a situation where we had to land on the fuselage because the abnormality was confirmed very urgently. You need to check all of those things. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude prematurely. But anyway, the situation shown now is that the fuselage landing was made urgently for some reason. At the same time, it seems that the damage has increased due to unexpectedly leading to a fire or explosion.

[Anchor
According to the continuous reports, there were reports that passengers on the tail were being rescued, so can we also estimate the possibility that the plane hit its head during landing?

[Lee Young-joo]
Since the landing gear is the front part of the aircraft, even if the fuselage lands, there is a possibility that more impact was applied to the front part of the plane and the stern. So, I think there is a possibility that these parts of the rear of the plane may be relatively less damaged or there may be some probability of survival. However, looking at the debris and fire conditions on the screen, it is a very wide and widespread damage, so if there are survivors at the rear of the plane and rescue is possible there, I think it is a situation where we need to save lives more clearly. Because the fire is not completely contained, there is a possibility that the risks will continue.

[Anchor]
Let me clear up the accident situation once again. At Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do, a passenger plane carrying 181 passengers, that is, a passenger plane carrying 181 passengers and crew members, crashed during landing. It looks like there was an accident at around 9:07. Jeju Air Flight 7C2261 crashed while attempting to land on the runway of Muan International Airport. We're showing you the screen of the fire on fire. And the aircraft appears to be quite damaged. The aircraft crashed into the outer wall of the runway, causing half-wave and a fire.

So far, two people have been rescued from the rear of the aircraft, and 23 are believed to have been killed or injured. As soon as the number of casualties is counted, we will deliver it once again. Professor, we will connect with our reporter to listen to the situation and connect with the professor again. Reporter Heo Sung-joon, please come out.

[Reporter]
It's the national division.

[Anchor]
Please tell me in detail.

[Reporter]
It happened at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do at around 9 a.m. just now. It's a Jeju Air flight carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members. During landing, he left the runway, hit the airport wall, and then burst into flames. Police believe the landing gear of the aircraft has not come down. The plane left Bangkok, Thailand, early this morning and was returning to Muan. If you look at the video taken by viewers at the scene, black smoke continues to soar into the sky.

Currently, the fire authorities have mobilized all of their manpower and equipment to extinguish the airplane fire. Police at the scene said 28 people were killed and the injured were being identified. The exact damage to the passengers has not yet been confirmed. I'll tell you again. A while ago, at around 9 o'clock at Muan Airport in Jeollanam-do, a passenger plane hit a wall and caught fire during landing. It's a Jeju Air flight carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members.

I left Bangkok, Thailand early this morning and was on my way back to Muan. If you look at the video taken by viewers at the scene, black smoke continues to soar into the sky. Currently, the fire authorities have mobilized all of their manpower and equipment to extinguish the airplane fire. The exact life and death of the passengers has not yet been confirmed. I'll let you know again as soon as I hear more details. So far, I'm Heo Sungjun of YTN from the nationwide department.

[Anchor]
We will continue to analyze this situation further with Professor Lee Young-joo. Professor, we can't figure out the exact cause of the accident right now, but it's a landing gear problem caused by a bird collision. Professor, what do you think?

[Lee Young-joo]
The cause needs to be checked.What is commonly confirmed is that the landing gear was not properly unfolded. There are many reasons.Ma first announced and reported by the National Fire Agency, there is a possibility that the landing gear may not have worked properly due to the collision of birds, in short, birds, etc. On the other hand, even if it is not a bird collision, it is necessary to check whether there was a mechanical defect. As I said earlier, these are not situations that can be confirmed by the current phenomenon, but there are voice recording devices in the cockpit.

Things to check what content was exchanged in the process of communicating with the cockpit and the control tower. Then, there are black boxes, and there are data and records of airplanes. So I think it's a situation where we have to make a comprehensive judgment and find the causes.

[Anchor]
We will organize the accident situation once again. An accident was reported at Muan Airport in Jeollanam-do between 9:05 and 7:7 a.m. today. Currently, 28 passengers are said to have died, but the number of deaths and casualties has not yet been accurately counted. As soon as it's counted, we'll deliver it to you once again. A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok collided while trying to land at Muan Airport. So it is known that 175 passengers and 6 crew members were on board. The fire department says the cause of the accident is believed to have collided with the outer wall of the airport because the plane crash report was received at around 9:05 a.m. today and the landing gear did not come down.

Professor, let me ask you this question as well. We can continue to check the video of the informants and the video that the reporter is sending us on the spot through the screen. The scale of the fire looks quite large. The fire authorities also seem to have started to put out the fire early. Dozens of casualties continue to be counted now. Can fire be seen as the main cause of human damage rather than shock?

[Lee Young-joo]
There's a possibility of that. This is because most fires on airplanes are different from other fires. It's a closed space, in short, a space where evacuations and things like that are limited. In the case of aviation oil when a fire occurs, it is much more flammable than general oil. So there is a possibility that a very explosive fire was formed. In addition, if there is a physical impact, perhaps an impact, it seems that human damage was a combination of not only physical damage but also damage from fire.

When there is an abnormality in the plane, even if it is not a fire in case of an emergency, it is the top priority to evacuate passengers outside quickly, but it seems that fire and explosion occurred at the same time so that such measures could not be taken. Therefore, I think there is a possibility that there will be many additional deaths or casualties inside, unfortunately.

[Anchor]
It is said to be rescuing passengers from the rear amid the initial fire. From the professor's point of view, the plane seems to have been halved under the current situation. Which part of the rescue do you think the fire authorities should focus on?

[Lee Young-joo]
As you said, the plane's aircraft was separated during the crash, so maybe the rear part of the plane was separated, so the fire or damage in that part is not relatively large, so it seems to be possible to save lives. Anyway, even if it's in there, it's most necessary to rescue the people inside as soon as possible. Basically, the part that needs to be saved quickly in a situation where there is no risk of life safety or rescue by paying attention to extinguishing the fire in the fuselage where the fire has occurred or at the scene where the fire has occurred. After that, it seems that there will be a process of quickly extinguishing the fire and searching for various deaths or injuries, such as those who remain in it.

[Anchor]
The fire authorities continued to extinguish the fire and reportedly succeeded in the initial diagnosis. If the fire was extinguished in time, could the passengers' chances of survival be slightly higher?

[Lee Young-joo]
It wouldn't have been easy to do that. This is because if an aircraft were caught on fire by oil or explosion, no matter how quickly it approached, it would not have been possible to prevent casualties or major damage. However, as you said, in the case of airports, there is also an airport fire brigade and nearby firefighters quickly approached the site and attempted to suppress it, so there is relatively little possibility of such areas, such as increased damage caused by delays in suppression. Anyway, it is correct to say that a strong fire occurred in the early stages and caused a lot of damage in the early stages.

[Anchor]
I'll arrange the accident situation once again. What you see on the screen is a fire situation. Black smoke is rising into the sky. So far, 23 or 28 casualties have been reported at the scene, and we will deliver the exact number of casualties once again. It is known that the early evolution of the Muan Airport aircraft is now in progress. We are rescuing passengers from the rear. And there is news that it is believed to be a landing gear failure due to a tidal current collision. The Korea Airports Corporation is currently checking the cause and scale of the accident. We have established an accident response headquarters and are conducting initial measures. The position of the Minister of Public Administration and Security is vacant. The acting president is making all-out efforts to save lives in the Muan aircraft accident, and news is coming from the scene.

Professor, we have no choice but to estimate the cause and circumstances of the accident, but we will estimate together. If you look at the videos and pictures we are receiving, the weather seems to be clear. As the professor suggested earlier, if an emergency landing, which is a certain fuselage landing itself, is made, can this weather not be considered an obstacle?

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. Changes in weather and air currents may have affected the process of descending from a certain altitude during operation or during landing, but if it was an abnormal situation and an emergency situation like this, it's hard to say that the climate impact is significant. However, as you said, when did you notice an emergency situation where the landing gear was not properly unfolded and you had no choice but to land the fuselage there, these things actually require absolute trust in the pilot's judgment anyway.Ma thinks these things are a situation where we have to look into later to see if there were any problems in that process. So it can be seen that the impact on the meteorological part is relatively small.

[Anchor]
I've pointed out the fire earlier, and it seems to be the main cause of the fire if it causes casualties. You also explained the characteristics of aircraft fuel a little while ago. Could you tell me more about it?

[Lee Young-joo]
In the case of aviation oil, unlike conventional oil and gasoline, it is composed of components that are much more energy efficient, so the energy generated when burned is much higher. Simply put, it burns much better and the heat from it is high, so in the case of aircraft, when a fire occurs, there is a possibility that it can explode in a series. Also, it was the process of landing the plane itself, so we need to check how much aviation oil and fuel there was here.Since the amount of fuel on the plane itself is absolutely large, the amount of combustibles is very high when exposed to fire or explosion.

Also, there was a possibility that these things could be damaged during the collision and the fire could spread rapidly overall, so compared to what you actually see on the screen, that's why you can see all the debris on one plane and fire in a wide range on the screen.

[Anchor]
You even explained the characteristics of the fuel. It was Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, which departed from Bangkok, Thailand, and entered Muan. We need to analyze the impact of the air current and the possibility of bird collision, but what do you think about the possibility of defects in the aircraft itself?

[Lee Young-joo]
The possibility of a gas defect must be looked into. As mentioned earlier, the fire department estimates that the landing gear was not actually unfolded properly due to the influence of the birds due to the collision of birds rather than a gas defect. This situation is also something we estimate, and we have to look into internal situations.

Recall the neglect of storing plane operation records called black boxes and look into whether there were any physical or system problems with the aircraft and the plane itself at that time. In the event of such an abnormal situation, there are all voice storage devices that look into the communication content of the cockpit and the control tower. By looking into these contents, you will be able to estimate the cause by comprehensively considering the abnormal situation and why the abnormal situation occurred and what the situation was like at the time. Therefore, it is said that there is a high possibility of abnormalities caused by algae, but it is also expected to investigate air defects and various situations.

[Anchor]
Professor, we will have a reporter on the spot and connect you. This has been Lee Young-joo, a professor of the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention. Thank you.