Air Busan probe to begin Monday

[Anchor]

The passenger plane involved in this fire was carrying a large amount of aviation fuel, raising concerns about the possibility of a secondary explosion.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's accident investigation team assessed today (1.31) that the condition of the aviation fuel is stable after inspecting the fuselage.

Accordingly, they decided to conduct a site inspection on the 3rd of next month without removing the aviation fuel.

Reporter Jeon Hyung-seo reports.

[Report]

In front of the aircraft moving to the runway, the Air Busan aircraft reveals a devastating scene.

Investigators closely examine the fuselage of the aircraft, which has a gaping hole in the ceiling.

Before the site inspection, a joint investigation team including police, fire department, and the French accident investigation team began checking whether the aircraft's condition is safe.

[French Accident Investigation Committee Official: "We are just checking the risk on the site. So, we will tell you after the risk assessment."]

The Air Busan aircraft is an Airbus A321 model, with fuel tanks on both wings and a central auxiliary tank.

There are about 16 tons of aviation fuel remaining, which raises concerns about the risk of a secondary explosion.

The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board decided to proceed with the site inspection without removing the aviation fuel based on their assessment.

[Kang Yong-hak/Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board's Investigation Team Leader: "(After the fire) we assessed whether there are structural issues, and we determined that we could safely conduct the investigation without removing the fuel."]

The judgment was also influenced by the assessment that the risk of explosion from fuel vapors remaining in the fuel tank during the fuel removal process is higher.

The accident investigation team emphasized that continuous work such as sampling, classification, and analysis of the aircraft is important, and since there is a forecast for rain this weekend, the site inspection will begin on the 3rd of next month.

After conducting 3D imaging of the aircraft and hazardous material removal, they also covered the aircraft with tarps to prevent damage from rain.

This is KBS News reporter Jeon Hyung-seo.