Dangerous localizers to be fixed

[Anchor]

All localizer facilities at seven airports, including Muan Airport where the Jeju Air passenger plane accident occurred, will be changed.

Plans include completely removing the embankments and improving safety by making them breakable.

This is reporter Lee Ji-eun.

[Report]

This localizer at Muan Airport is the site where the Jeju Air passenger plane collided during the accident.

It is supported by more than ten concrete pillars buried in the ground, and during the renovation in 2023, a 30cm thick concrete slab was added, raising the height of the embankment to 2 meters.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has decided to remove this embankment.

Instead, they will install supports made of lightweight steel that are easy to break.

Yeosu Airport, which has an embankment twice as high as that of Muan Airport, will also be treated in the same way.

Four airports, including Gwangju and Pohang-Gyeongju, where the embankments do not exceed 1 meter, will bury the embankments underground instead of removing them.

The plan is to cover the area around the embankment with soil and gently slope the ground to reduce the impact in case of a collision with an aircraft.

[Kim Hong-rak/Director of Airport Policy, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: "The foundation of the localizer must be installed below ground level; if this is not possible, it should not protrude more than 7.5cm above ground level."]

The safety area at the end of the runway will also be extended to the maximum standard of 240m.

The areas that need improvement include seven airports nationwide, including Muan, Yeosu, and Gimhae.

For airports where it is difficult to extend the safety area due to limited space, the introduction of an aircraft deviation prevention system, EMAS, is being considered.

EMAS is a device that slows down an aircraft when it goes off the runway.

[Hwang Ho-won/Professor of Air Traffic and Logistics, Korea Aerospace University: "(Before installing EMAS), we need to carry out runway leveling work in advance. Since this has never been done in our country, it will require sufficient review and will likely take time."]

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to complete the improvements within the first half of this year, but stated that plans for additional land acquisition for extending the safety area, as well as the budget size and source, have not been finalized.

KBS News, Lee Ji-eun.