That’s Return to our top story. Now that plane crash in South Korea, which is left 179, people of the 181 on board dead. The ggu Air flight arriving in one in Southern Korea. From Bangkok skidded down the runway after making a second attempted Landing. It’s landing gear failed to open leaving its skidding off the end of the runway and into a wall, it exploded and killed 179.
People on board while to try and explain all of this. Now I’m joined by the aviation expert. David Limon David. We are grateful for you to come into the Studio switch on Sunday afternoon and taught us about this many, many uncertainties as you can imagine still surround what
Sadly, the deadliest aircraft in an aircraft crash in South Korea. I know you’ve been studying the footage for us, having a look at it all day for us. What are your assessment at this hour? Uh, well I’m uh, I’m pretty shocked actually because um, whatever happened to the airplane, which meant that the pilot couldn’t get the flaps and gear down for the landing was not actually, what caused the death of the passengers.The passengers were killed by hitting a solid structure just over the end of the runway where a solid structure should not be.
That solid structure contained the instrument Landing system antenna, which does need to be there because it guides in bad weather and of course, this is very good weather. The bad weather in bad weather that antenna guides the aircraft in, to the runway, you know, when the pilot can’t see into the last second,
Those antennas are normally just stuck in the ground and they’re collapsible. So that if you go over the end of the runway that the antenna collapse and don’t cause the aircraft, any damage, we can see the aircraft running into this structure and just crumpling and exploding. We can see the aftermathon on the screens now that huge Prima black smoke and of course that the Flames that explosion is interesting that you say that it’s a big thing to say they would have to say that the country is deputy transmit Minister
We need to statement saying that this 2800 to Runway is not a contributing faction trans length and more importantly, the walls, which you mention one of them at the ends had been built according to standards. I don’t know what standards they, they think were appropriate, but um, other people. And when they, when they are put a structure for the instrument landing system and Tenny, don’t put them in a concrete structure. Um, what we saw was during the, the video of this landing was, we saw the aircraft being put down beautifully, with Wings perfectly level. It was sliding on its belly, it was going very fast because the pilot couldn’t get the flaps down possibly because the hydraulics had failed after a bird strike. But anyway, he had to land particularly fast, that’s why the aircraft went over.
he End of the runway. That’s why because aircraft occasionally will go over the end. You don’t put solid structures immediately in the overrun but that’s what happened here. Yeah. And as you say that, the landing of belly circle, belly landing was a very good one. It was a very good one and if you watch it minutely all the way down the runway, there is no, when the aircraft just before it hits that wall there is no extant damage to the aircraft. The the there’s a bit of smoke coming off from the friction with the runway.
This the crash Crews on the Airfield are ready for it. So, you know, this did not the rum, the transportment is quite right, the wrong way. Didn’t cause this accident, something happened to the airplane, it disabled it. I think it lost hydraulics. They couldn’t get the gear done over around the runway. It’s the wall at the end, right
And if that hadn’t been there, everybody would be alive now. Okay, well, I suppose we will, the goodness of time we will find out more. We know that there are two surviving crew. They may have some information for for the emergency services plus, of course, the data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have now been found and of course, will hold Clues. But if we go back to just before, um, this tragedy took place,
we know that the pilot did do a Mayday call. The control tower had released a warning about a bird strike. So there’s multiple factors to play here. Plus of course, as you mentioned the landing gear was not down. Well, whatever happened. Whether it was a bird strike or something but one of the engines also appears to have been severely damaged
to the aircraft. The the there’s a bit of smoke coming off from the friction with the runway. Lots and lots of you know belly landings are gear up Landings. Airplanes can survive. This the crash Crews on the Airfield are ready for it. So, you know, this did not the runway, the transport, which is quite right the wrong way. Didn’t cause this accident, something happened to the airplane? It disabled it. I think we it lost hydraulics.
we know that the pilot did do the Mayday call, he had time to do that and we know that the tower the control tower had released a warning about a bird strikes. There’s multiple factors that play here plus of course, as you mentioned, the landing gear was not down. Well, whatever happened. Whether it was a bird stripe or something but one of the engines also appears to have been severely. Damaged might have had to be shut down but the crew managed to fly the aircraft on one engine.But whatever, went wrong,
the pilot decided to abandon the first attempt to land. And having done that, he then went to the having taken off at the far end. He then turned round came back landed on the same Runway from the opposite direction but that landing that we’ve seen on video, no damage came to the airplane unusual to make a second attempt knowing that you’ll hydraulics of failing and not necessarily alerting. That’s the bit we really want to have clarified and the voice recorder the conversation between the pilot. Um, you know, they made the pilot knew he had a real problem and he didn’t have much of the time
