Jeju Air flight disaster...179 dead, 2 rescued.

■ Host: anchor Lee Hyun-woong, anchor Han Ji-won
■ Starring: Shin Gwi-hye, social affairs reporter

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

[Anchor]
A Jeju Air flight carrying 181 people from Bangkok hit a wall and caught fire while landing at Muan International Airport. 179 people died, except for the two rescued. Shin Gwi-hye, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs, is here. How are you? Please outline the accident that occurred yesterday.

[Reporter]
I'll give you a brief overview. A Jeju Air flight 7C2216 crashed into an airport structure at the end of the runway while landing at Muan Airport, causing a fire. The plane attempted to land on runway 1 of Muan Airport, but raised the altitude again because it was difficult to land normally. It's called Bokbok. Since then, we have attempted a fuselage landing, a type of emergency landing. It was landing on the runway with the body of the plane, but the speed was not properly reduced and it hit the outer wall. We first examined why it was difficult to land normally, and it was found that the passenger plane in the accident used a folding landing gear. It's being confirmed that it didn't work first.

[Anchor]
Just before the plane landed, the airport announced the possibility of a bird collision?

[Reporter]
That's right. According to the explanation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which is in charge of aviation safety, the passenger plane, which had an accident by time, first tried to land on the runway at 8:54 a.m. and took off again. I told you earlier that it's a blessing in disguise. And three minutes later, at 8:57 p.m., I received information from the control tower that there was a tide. And two minutes later, the pilot made a Mayday request, a distress signal, and four minutes later, around 9:03 a.m., the final collision occurred. If so, it remains a question of why he returned, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explains that it is only presuming that there was still difficulty in controlling the bird due to the collision. As a result, landing gear malfunction and bird collision are being pointed out as the cause of the accident.

[Anchor]
What is the exact model of the passenger plane that had an accident yesterday?

[Reporter]
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 is a Boeing 737-800 manufactured by Boeing in the United States. It is confirmed that it is 15 years old, but it is a period that is hard to say that it is old. At today's briefing by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, information on the airliner's captain and bookkeeping was also provided. The captain took up his current position in March 2019, and it was found that the flight time was about 6,823 hours. It has been confirmed that the deputy chief has about 1650 hours of flight time and his current position was held in February last year.

[Anchor]
This accident has caused a lot of casualties. Please tell me in detail.

[Reporter]
As the plane collided, it was damaged to the point that it was difficult to recognize its shape except for the tail. The explosion also seems to have caused a large number of casualties. At that time, six crew members, 175 passengers, and 181 total were on board, of which 179 were found to have died. When classified by gender of the deceased, 84 males, 85 females, and 10 persons are being confirmed, respectively. As of 2:30 a.m., 133 people were identified. There are two people rescued, one male crew member in his 30s and one female crew member in each of the specific situations related to the accident. The rescued two were injured and taken to a hospital, all of whom were believed to be on the tail of the plane.

[Anchor]
I think we need the rescued crew's statements and testimonies to determine the cause of the accident, but what is your current health status?

[Reporter]
We held a briefing yesterday evening at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, where a rescued male crew member was transferred. The thoracic vertebrae and ribs were fractured, and due to the possibility of aftereffects, the intensive care unit is closely monitoring them. The flight attendant said he was rescued when he woke up, but the hospital said he did not ask specific questions about the accident because he thought it would not help him recover. It is said that a female flight attendant also injured her head and said it seemed like a plane was falling with a sudden explosion of roar. These statements are expected to help determine the cause of the accident.

[Anchor]
You just said that 133 people were identified as of 2:30 a.m., but are you still in the middle of it?

[Reporter]
That's right. As mentioned earlier, 133 of the 179 dead have been identified. Police and fire authorities are identifying them with fingerprints or DNA. However, in some cases, it is difficult to collect fingerprints, so we continue to identify them through DNA matching with bereaved families. Police held an afternoon briefing and said they had taken all the DNA from the dead. DNA from bereaved families was also taken. It can be considered that the identification is completed only after the final confirmation process through DNA matching.

[Anchor]
Are most of the passengers on the plane residents of Gwangju?

[Reporter]
That's right. Most of them are residents of Gwangju and Jeollanam-do. Gwangju Metropolitan City has the largest number of citizens with 81, Jeollanam-do Province has 76 people, and 18 people, including residents and Thais from other regions, and among them, the crew is estimated to be six. Among them, there were public officials, including 5 from the Jeollanam-do Office of Education and 3 from Hwasun-gun. It is found that there were also three students in Jeollanam-do, so the Jeonnam Office of Education has set up an accident countermeasure headquarters and is trying to find out if there are any additional students or faculty members on board.

[Anchor]
I think the scene of the accident is continuing, how is the situation at the scene now?

[Reporter]
The recovery of the dead has been completed, but on-site activities continue. This is because you need to find belongings such as identification cards that will help you identify yourself. The fire department said it was searching the crew in three groups. It seems that the field training activities will continue until dawn. After that, a joint inspection of related organizations will also be held, but the time has not yet been set.

[Anchor]
How is the government moving?

[Reporter]
Acting President Choi Sang-mok visited the Central Disaster and Safety Situation Room at the Seoul Government Complex at around 9:50 a.m. shortly after hearing the news of the accident. Immediately, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters was activated. Acting President Choi instructed the heads of related agencies, including the Minister of Public Administration and Security, to mobilize all available equipment and personnel to save lives. Afterwards, Choi moved to Muan Airport in Jeollanam-do to inspect the accident site, and Muan, Jeollanam-do, issued by the disaster, was declared a special disaster area. If it is declared a special disaster area, it can receive financial support prescribed by the Presidential Decree, and 50% of the damage recovery cost will be supported by the national expenditure. The Ministry of Economy and Finance decided to operate a 'Safety Accident Response and Support Task Force' to share information between ministries and implement follow-up procedures such as budget input following the declaration of a special disaster area.

[Anchor]
The airline has expressed its position regarding the passenger plane owned by Jeju Air. Please tell me the details.

[Reporter]
Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae issued a public apology at a hotel in Seoul yesterday afternoon. He expressed his apology, saying he felt responsible. He also said he would make every effort to support the bereaved families. However, Jeju Air said there was no accident history of the plane in the accident, and there were no abnormal signs in the results of regular maintenance. Chairman Jang Young-shin of Aekyung Group, the parent company, also issued a statement in the name of the chairman. We expressed our condolences and condolences to the victims of this accident, and announced that we sincerely apologize to the bereaved families. At the same time, he promised that he would do his best to spare all support at the group level.

[Anchor]
The police formed an investigation headquarters, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. The Jeonnam Police Agency has formed an investigation headquarters related to the Muan aircraft accident as of yesterday. It is in charge of 264 people and is in charge of accident management and rapid identification of the dead. 131 additional scientific investigators and medical examiners were supported to confirm the personal information of the deceased. In the future, we plan to investigate the cause of the accident with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Air Railroad Accident Investigation Committee. In addition, the police issued an emergency in the Muan area where the accident occurred and an emergency in the adjacent Hampyeong and Mokpo areas to enter an emergency service system.

[Anchor]
So what's the situation with the prosecution?

[Reporter]
The prosecution has also set up a task force. The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office formed an accident countermeasure headquarters led by the chief of the district prosecutor's office. In this regard, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said it has instructed them to respond in cooperation with related agencies to quickly support victims and their bereaved families and thoroughly identify the cause of the accident.

[Anchor]
The organization has a lot of questions. What should I solve first?

[Reporter]
First of all, the aircraft tried to land for the first time and then took off again, and it seems that the reason for this should be clarified. In addition, if you look at the report video, the accident appears to have occurred while attempting to land the fuselage without the landing gear operating. Several questions have been raised in this regard.
First of all, it seems necessary to check the exact facts to see if the landing gear is not working. In addition, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that engine failure and landing gear failure are not usually interlinked, so it is necessary to check exactly which part of the aircraft has an abnormality. Also, it seems necessary to accurately check which other parts of the body have an abnormality. Regarding the flight process, there are questions about whether it was too urgent to make sufficient preparations by communicating with the airport before landing the fuselage, and about the airport, there are questions about whether the structure is made of concrete and has increased the impact of the accident. So investigative agencies such as the police are expected to take a comprehensive look at these questions.

[Anchor]
Then the flight record analysis will be essential.

[Reporter]
That's right. to make a swift landing in the absence of virtually braking force As it is an accident, it seems that the question will be solved only by analyzing the flight record device closely. In particular, when the aircraft lands, it is estimated that it landed from the middle part, not the end of the runway. In this regard, it seems essential to analyze the contents of the communication. As there was also a notification from the control tower regarding bird movement, it is also necessary to check whether bird eradication activities have been carried out properly. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has secured flight recorders and voice recorders, and will start analyzing them. However, there is a possibility that the flight recorder may have been damaged, and some predict that the investigation could take months to up to years if previous aircraft accidents are considered together.

[Anchor]
Let's listen to it up to here. I was with Shin Gwi-hye, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thank you.