Earlier than it suffered the deadliest crash in South Korea’s historical past, finances airline Jeju Air was shifting quick: racking up report passenger numbers and flying its plane greater than home rivals and lots of of its world friends, information present.
The excessive “utilization charge” of Jeju Air’s planes – the variety of hours they fly in a day – isn’t problematic in itself, specialists say, however means scheduling sufficient time for required upkeep is essential.
Authorities have prompt a chook strike contributed to the accident, however as a part of their probe into the incident aboard Boeing 737-800, police have raided the airways’ Seoul workplace to grab paperwork associated to the operation and upkeep of the aircraft.
“You’re actually all the things,” stated aviation security and crash investigation professional Anthony Brickhouse. “You’re going to begin off with their accident historical past and security historical past. What sort of occasions have that they had previously, what occurred, what was executed to appropriate the problems?”
Jeju Air informed Reuters that it didn’t neglect upkeep procedures and that it could step up its security efforts. The Dec. 29 crash, which killed 179 individuals, was the airline’s first deadly accident since its 2005 founding and the primary for any Korean airline in additional than a decade.
The corporate’s CEO, Kim E-bae – who has been barred from touring abroad throughout the investigation – informed a information convention final week that Jeju’s upkeep is consistent with regulatory requirements and that there have been no upkeep points with the doomed jet throughout pre-flight inspection.
He acknowledged the airline’s security measures had not been enough previously, however stated enhancements had been made.
The authorities haven’t stated poor upkeep contributed to the crash and the precise circumstances behind the catastrophe stay unclear.
In addition to the reported chook strike, authorities are trying into why the pilot might have rushed a second touchdown try after declaring an emergency, and why the touchdown gear was not deployed.
Investigators have recovered the cockpit and flight information recorders however haven’t launched any particulars.
The nation’s transport regulator is inspecting all 101 737-800s in South Korea – greater than a 3rd of that are operated by Jeju Air – specializing in how usually and the way nicely the planes had been maintained, amongst different concerns.
Though it had recorded no violations within the final two years, it was hit with extra fines and suspensions for aviation legislation breaches than any of its home rivals in 2020-2022, simply throughout and after the COVID-19 pandemic, information present.
In response to transport ministry information on main airlinesfrom 2020 to August 2024, Jeju Air was hit by about 2.3 billion received ($1.57 million) in fines and the affected plane had been stored out of operation for a complete of 41 days, in accordance with Reuters calculations primarily based on the info.
The subsequent-most penalized airline, T’means Air, had 2.1 billion received in fines and 4 days of suspended operation throughout that interval.
Jeju Air flies its planes greater than every other main airline within the nation, information present, and likewise outpaces most world friends reminiscent of Eire’s Ryanair RYA.I and Malaysia’s AirAsia.
Jeju Air 7C2216 was flying from the Thai capital of Bangkok to Muan in southwestern South Korea at evening when it belly-landed, overshot the runway and burst into flames after hitting an embankment. The plane flew day-after-day in 2024, in accordance with flight information reviewed by Reuters.
Utilization Charges
Excessive utilization charges are prized within the business as an indicator of financial effectivity, particularly at low-cost carriers, specialists say.
Jeju Air, which ranks behind solely Korean Air and Asiana Air when it comes to passenger volumes within the nation, noticed report numbers from January to December 2024, in accordance with transport ministry information.
Its month-to-month utilization hours for passenger jets almost doubled to 412 in 2023 from 2022, greater than Korean Air at 332 hours and Asiana Airways at 304 hours, in accordance with inventory change filings.
T’means averaged 366 hours per 30 days in passenger and cargo jets mixed, Jin Air averaged 349 hours, and Air Busan 319 hours, in accordance with their filings.
In 2024, Jeju Air flew its airplanes extra every day – 11.6 hours – than virtually every other airline providing low cost tickets and flying solely narrowbody plane, in accordance with information from aviation analytics firm Cirium, which calculates utilization charges in a different way from the earnings filings.
Solely Saudi Arabia’s Air Arabia flew its planes extra – 12.5 hours a day. Vietnam’s VietJet flew its planes 10 hours a day. Ryanair’s common use was 9.3 hours, whereas Malaysia’s AirAsia was 9 hours. China’s Spring Airways flew 8 hours a day.
“The utilization itself isn’t an issue,” stated Sim Jai-dong, a professor of plane upkeep at Sehan College in South Korea. “However there may very well be greater fatigue for pilots, crew members and mechanics given the upper utilization charges.”
($1 = 1,453.9500 received)
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Dan Catchpole in Seattle, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Joanna Plucinska in London; modifying by John Geddie and Gerry Doyle)
{Photograph}: The wreckage of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by South Korean finances airline Jeju Air lies at Muan Worldwide Airport in Muan, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Picture/Ahn Younger-joon)
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