Singapore airports have no concrete structures like one in Jeju accident: Chee Hong Tat
The minister was responding to a question on the lessons to be learnt from the disaster and how Singapore is preparing itself to prevent a similar incident
AIRPORTS in Singapore do not have concrete structures located near runways similar to the one that contributed to the severity of the aviation disaster Jeju Air Flight 2216, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat in Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 8).
Based on currently available information, he said, the severity of the outcome was worsened by the presence of a concrete structure at the end of the runway.
“There are no such concrete structures near runways at our airports, all equipment that are required for air navigation purposes that are located near our runways are designed to break off in the event of a collision,” he said.
Chee was responding to a question from Member of Parliament Ang Wei Neng on the lessons to be learnt from the disaster and how Singapore is preparing itself to prevent a similar incident.
On Dec 29, 2024, Jeju Air Flight 2216, a Boeing 737-800, suffered a bird strike and attempted to land at Muan International Airport in South Korea without its landing gear deployed. It overshot the runway and crashed into a berm surrounding a concrete structure that housed an antenna array, killing 179 people. It is the deadliest aviation accident in South Korea.
The minister stressed that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is in touch with the South Korean authorities, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, as the investigation into the incident continues.
It will review and take the necessary preventive actions as more information about the incident becomes available.
“CAAS has also checked the maintenance of relevant systems on our 737-800s, which is the same model as the aircraft that was involved in the incident, and they have found no anomalies or reliability issues,” he added. Chee was referring to the Boeing 737-800s of Singapore Airlines, which is the only operator of the type among Singapore carriers.
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