Probe begins into long flight times and maintenance

[Anchor]

We reported yesterday (12.29) that the accident passenger plane had flown for as long as sixteen hours in a single day, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has begun an investigation into whether such long flight times affected maintenance and other factors.

This year, the operating time of Jeju Air's same aircraft model has been confirmed to exceed an average of 14 hours per day, which is longer than other airlines.

Reporter Lee Rang reports.

[Report]

This is the flight log of the accident passenger plane from the day before the incident, on Dec. 28.

Starting with a 4-hour and 20-minute flight from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, to Muan, the plane completed six schedules throughout the day, flying from Muan to Japan, back to Muan, and then from Muan to Taiwan.

In total, it exceeded 16 hours.

In fact, from January to November of this year, the average operating time of Jeju Air's B737-800 passenger aircraft was over 14 hours.

Operating time is an indicator that shows the actual time a specific aircraft model is in operation during a day, and it was 3 to 4 hours longer compared to the same model from other low-cost airlines.

Compared to large airlines like Korean Air, it was about 6 hours longer.

The focus is on whether proper safety checks were conducted in proportion to the long operating hours.

[Jeong Yoon-sik/Professor, Department of Aviation Operations, Catholic Kwandong University: "(Aircraft) maintenance is based on time. The stress index of the aircraft and the fatigue index of the aircraft are all included in that time."]

Jeju Air claims that there were no issues with maintenance or inspections.

However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has launched a thorough investigation into whether Jeju Air had sufficient maintenance personnel and whether maintenance regulations were followed.

[Joo Jong-wan/Director of Aviation Policy, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: "We have dispatched three personnel to Jeju Air to conduct safety supervision activities, and as the investigation progresses, the causes of the accident will emerge."]

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also plans to send aviation safety supervisors to six airlines that operate the same model, the B737-800.

This is KBS News, Lee Rang.