More Muan control than other small and medium-sized airports...an average of 111 units a day

[Anchor]
The control of Muan International Airport, where the Jeju Air plane disaster occurred, is more than three times that of other small and medium-sized airports.

Among the black boxes that will be a clue to the cause of the disaster, the flight recorder, which is difficult to extract data in Korea, will be transferred to the United States tomorrow (6th).

This is reporter Choi Doo-hee.

[Reporter]
The amount of control at Muan International Airport will increase rapidly in the second half of 2014 as it was designated as a replacement airport due to the construction of Jeju Airport, and since then, air trainer control has been added.

Concerned about safety accidents caused by a lack of controllers, the Busan Regional Aviation Administration tried to limit night operations in 2017, but it was canceled due to community opposition that feared it would adversely affect the revitalization of the airport.

The number of controllers at Muan Airport, which was six at the time in 2017, has increased by only one so far.

[Yoo Kyung-soo / Aviation Safety Policy Officer of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (the 1st): There are currently 7 people working on the Muan control tower controller. Two or three people are working in one group and working on a shift.

As of 2023, the control volume of the Muan Airport control tower averaged 111 units per day, more than other small and medium-sized airports, and more than three times that of the Ulsan control tower, which is likely to have been more burdensome for controllers.

In the meantime, it is one of the black boxes that will play a decisive role in determining the cause of the accident, and the recording of the voice recorder containing the last two hours just before the accident has been completed.

It is expected to solve questions such as the reason why the plane attempted to land by changing the direction of the runway.

[Yoo Kyung-soo / Aviation Safety Policy Officer of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (last 1st): Since we can only get off the runway with the final controller's permission, we have the final controller's permission in various unstable situations....]

However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans not to disclose the contents of the transcript at the investigation stage because the cause of the accident cannot be revealed only by the transcript.

The flight recorder, which is difficult to analyze in Korea due to the disappearance of the connector, will be sent to the United States with two investigators to start analysis.

The accident investigation committee has also launched an investigation into the engine, lifting both engines of the plane and transferring them to the hangar.

I'm Choi Doohee of YTN.

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