An investigation into South Korea’s deadliest air disaster has found that a pilot mistakenly shut off the wrong engine, local media has reported.
All but two of the 181 people on board Jeju Air Flight 2216 were killed when it crashed into a barrier in December while attempting to land at Muan International Airport, following a bird strike on one of its engines.
The release of the investigation, scheduled for last weekend, has been delayed after protests from the families of the victims who were briefed on its findings.
They accused investigators of pinning the blame on the pilot while ignoring other contributing factors.
On the morning of 29 December, the pilots of Flight 2216 reported a bird strike and made a mayday call as their aircraft approached the runway.
The pilots then tried to land from the opposite direction. Video showed the plane making a belly landing – without landing gear – and skidding along the runway into a concrete barrier.
The aircraft’s two engines were sent to France in March for analysis. The recent findings from South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board found that a pilot had turned off the left engine – which had no defects – instead of the right engine, which was severely damaged by the bird strike.
However, families of the victims said that the report did not mention the concrete barrier at the end of the runway, which they argued is what made the accident so devastating.
“The bereaved families seek a fair and transparent investigation into the accident,” they said in a statement, and urged investigators to conduct a press briefing “only after a full and careful examination has been completed”.
In a statement on Sunday, the Jeju Air pilots’ union similarly criticised the recent findings for allegedly focusing on pilots’ misjudgement and downplaying other contributing factors.
A source with knowledge of the probe, however, told Reuters that investigators would not change their findings as they had “clear evidence and backup data”.
Following the crash, South Korea’s transport ministry said in January that it would remove concrete barriers at seven airports.
In May, families of the victims lodged a criminal complaint against Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-bae, citing professional negligence. Mr Kim is among 24 people being investigated over the accident.
