[On-site video+] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, "All 179 dead have been identified."

[Anchor]
Efforts to investigate the accident continue today, the fourth day of the Jeju Air flight disaster and New Year's Day.

In particular, I'm curious about the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's position on the localizer that increased the damage, so let's go directly to the site where the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's briefing is being held.

[Interview]
Regarding the accident of Jeju Air Flight 2216 at 09:03 pm, the situation of handling the accident as of 10:30 pm on December 2024 is as follows. It's identification. All 179 dead have been identified. Currently, a total of 11 people have been transferred to the funeral home in a temporary shelter.

It's an accident investigation situation. Two additional U.S. investigators entered the country on the night of December 31, and a joint investigation team between South Korea and the U.S. has been formed to set up a temporary headquarters at the airport and conduct an on-site investigation. The accident investigation committee has already extracted the data stored in the voice recording device, and today plans to start the work of converting the data into a voice file format.

And the damaged flight recorder is technically continuously reviewing the possibility of data extraction in Korea, I will tell you this. In addition, from today, we plan to begin visual investigation of debris conditions such as gases and engines and traces of algae.

Finally, it is an integrated support center. The joint memorial altar is being established and operated at Muan Airport, and we continue to provide 1:1 support for bereaved families, medical integration hearings, and legal counseling. That's about it.

[Reporter]
There are testimonies that landing gear came down during the first landing, so please tell me if there is anything confirmed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

[Interview]
Regarding the black box, as shown in the data, the voice recording device began extracting it right away in 2024 and last year, and the first data extraction has already been completed. Let me tell you that we plan to start the work of converting this data into a voice form with the basic data. And then, another device in the black box, whether it was a flight record, was found missing in the middle of the briefing yesterday.

[Reporter]
I have two questions and the first one is the voice extraction device and I wonder how long it takes to complete it. And there was a media report that the runway of Muan Airport was operating at 2,500m instead of 2800m, so please check it.

[Interview]
There is the first voice recorder data and the data extraction has been completed. This means that we will start the work of converting data into voice file format within today. And at the time of completion, I understand that the investigation committee plans to complete the voice extraction work as soon as possible and will probably speed up and do this work now.

I will figure out the progress of the investigation committee and tell you later. And the length of the runway was originally 2.8km, but it was only 2.5km, and it is true that it was operating at 2,500m because the runway extension was under construction. And this has already been announced in the aviation examination called AIP.

[Reporter]
Speaking of controllers, how many controllers are working at Muan Airport? Is it right to work in a shift? I'm not suspicious of the controller's hard work, but how much experience do controllers have at Muan Airport? Lost black box connector can be a form of extracting if you bring the same connector and plug it in, but does black box have to have only that missing connector?

[Interview]
It is a part that is connected to the power supply unit and the storage unit. It's a small connection line, but it's a specially manufactured form, so if the joint falls off, it requires very sophisticated technology when rejoining it. So, it's not a connector that you can buy any equipment and replace it, but it's a connector that requires a more special way of work.

[Reporter]
The problem with extracting data now is that the data inside has not been lost or something like this, right?

[Interview]
From the current state of recovery, it seems unlikely that the data in the storage device will be damaged after washing. We will have to look into the contents later, but we are looking for various ways there because we cannot extract data without related equipment and connectors necessary for connection. And regarding the Muan control tower controller, seven people are currently working.

Two to three people are working in a shift. And we'll check our experience further and let you know again in the afternoon.

[Reporter]
If I ask you a simple question and ask a few more questions, according to the data you gave me this morning, there were two additional U.S. investigators, so two more Boeing members joined. I wonder if there is a special reason for the additional joining, or if it's just a simple time difference in entry. The other is 2800m when going to direction 1 and 2500m when going to direction 19, please check one more time to see if I can understand it.

And yesterday's briefing explained that there was a concrete mound from the beginning of the opening of the port. According to reports, there was no concrete mound when Muan Airport opened in 2007, and reinforcement work was carried out with concrete to prevent damage to local risers due to weather damage such as typhoons in 2022.

So, please check again if the briefing you did yesterday is correct. I've been a dullard. In the previous briefing, I heard that there were cases where the height was adjusted with concrete dunes at LA Airport or Spain Airport, but if you look at the reports now, there is a story that the overseas case is different from the explanation that LA Airport does not have a dune itself when looking at satellite images.

I wonder if the case of the installation of concrete dunes overseas, what you explained at that time is still correct, or if you have explained anything about adjustment or update. This is the last one. I wonder if the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has concluded whether the local riser and the blunt instrument installation point are included or not in violation of regulations.

[Interview]
There is no special reason for the additional entry of the first NTSB technical team, but it is because of the flight schedule because we suddenly scheduled a business trip. In addition, if you need technical support for the part you need to investigate, you may need more.

[Interview]
You're right about the runway. I'll check again. Then, was there a blunt instrument from the beginning of the opening of the port, and was there a blunt instrument, and was there a concrete support in it? As I told you, that's what I checked after looking at the past data.

So, the whole thing is not concrete, but the mud is soil, and concrete supports are contained in it. the support form of concrete And the part that was added during the improvement this time is not to cover the entire concrete, but to cover the top with concrete. You can understand that's what I did.

[Reporter]
I'm sorry, but is there a reason why you reinforced the top plate additionally?

[Interview]
As you said earlier, more reinforcement is needed. Safety. Things like that. For that reason, I understand that it was reinforced like that. Foreign airports have been talking a lot about various regulations earlier. So, we will comprehensively review ICAO cases and regulations of major advanced countries, including foreign airport cases, collect opinions from experts, and explain them separately as soon as possible.

[Reporter]
What I asked is whether LA Airport and Spain's Tenerife Airport are equipped with localizers of concrete hills similar to Muan Airport.

[Interview]
I'm saying that I'll supplement it again and tell you because there is a claim that the data I had is like that, but that's not it.

[Reporter]
If the 19th direction was 2.5km, the previous explanation is that the aircraft landed on the runway 1.2km, ran 1.6km on the runway, and collided with a localizer after running 199m in the safety zone, but the distance doesn't seem right. 1. Is it necessary to shorten it to 3km? Yesterday afternoon, there was a question about localizer, and there was a point about the lack of localizer distance due to Muan Airport restrictions, so please explain what kind of judgment the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has made on this.

[Interview]
You've mentioned the touchdown point several times, but as I said at the briefing last time, there are many estimates of the exact grounding point.This is the kind of problem that the investigation committee should investigate and find out the exact point. For example, I think I can check the phenomenon and actually check all the flight recorders and check where they landed exactly. And I think the Korea Airports Corporation suggested that what you said about AOM needs to be supplemented and improved.

So, it comes out to the level that it needs to be improved, and I know that specific future schedules and such are planned to be reviewed once again in the future in the long-term plan for the 2nd Muan Airport.

[Reporter]
Then, when we figure out the exact grounding point when you said at first, do we have to look at the first starting point from the 300m pull and then this? So you pulled 300 in front of 2.8. Then the length from there to the landing point is what we think we should know from that.

[Interview]
In order to give you a rough information at the beginning, I roughly explained the location of the eyewitnesses and the control tower depending on it. I only confirm that there is an error in the middle. For more information, there are marks or cuts on the runway surface when the aircraft is initially grounded at the site.

as they hit the lower part of the engine or fuselage. It makes precise measurements, uses drones to measure it in the air, investigate it in various ways, communicate it later, and combine all the location data in the FDR. That's why I can't conclude with just one data. So, we will conclude comprehensively and check the final location.

[Reporter]
What I'm curious about is when you first mentioned the starting point of the calculation rather than the location of the lowered point.

[Interview]
Did you land at your usual landing point?

[Reporter]
It was a few hundred meters from the start of the runway.

[Interview]
Usually, the landing point is about 400m.

[Reporter]
So what I'm most curious about is that you told me at the time based on 2.5 instead of 300m, 2.8m, right? Isn't it?

[Interview]
That's right. I did it except for that. I can't explain the exact data, and even if you just look at the videos in the media, there was a process of landing at an abnormal flight angle and various circumstances, so it seems meaningless to explain the normal landing point of the runway. That's an issue that needs to be checked with accurate data.

[Reporter]
Earlier, you said you were reviewing whether it is possible to extract the flight recorder, but I would like to know how long it will take to conclude that it is not possible, and if I say no, I would appreciate it if you could tell me whether I will be sent to the United States right away.

[Interview]
The investigation committee seems to be in the final stage of its technical review. Since this is not a matter that needs to be reviewed for a long time, I know that it will be reviewed closely and made decisions quickly. After it is over, there will be additional considerations for the next steps.

Basically, in any case, the basic principle of expediting the procedure is proceeding while maintaining the investigation committee. I will say this.

[Reporter]
Let me check what came out first. At the first briefing, you said that you landed about a third of the normal point and halfway through the runway, and I think you just said that you calculated it based on 2.5km, so please check it again.

Please check if the declared distance has been reduced due to construction, and then the distance required for the landing plane to run on the ground will also be included in the declared distance. I wonder if the distance required for the ground run at that time adds up the distance to the localizer, including the longitudinal safety zone.

Lastly, in any case, Muan Airport also had plans to extend the longitudinal safety zone, and in other airports, can we consider that there is no safety problem? It's on the inside rather than the international recommendation. I'd like to ask you to come in. Is there any safety issue as it is now?

[Interview]
The declared distance may vary due to the length of the runway or various obstacles. Whenever that happens, the available distance for take-off and landing is calculated and notified. Therefore, within the available take-off and landing transactions, we usually operate with a model that can be used by calculating the weight or take-off and landing distance according to the performance of the aircraft.

There were only 1,200 meters of the final runway grounding point, a third. I understood and delivered it to you that it is such a location by combining various witness statements, and the location is being investigated precisely, so it will be confirmed later. I think it's around the middle of the runway. As far as I know at the moment, I'll check that first.

[Reporter]
Are you saying that the middle of the runway you mentioned can be seen based on 2.5km?

[Interview]
As far as we know, we understand it at a level where there is a slight error in the middle of the entire 2800. It is difficult to tell you the specific point because it is being measured accurately, and I think we need to judge it by looking at the results of the investigation.

[Reporter]
The last question was that there was an overrun, so I asked if there was a safety problem in case of overrun at other airports. I'm talking about Pohang, Gyeongju, and so on.

[Interview]
Various facility standards for Korean airports are closely prepared.