Korean Air Passenger Plane Deviates from Runway at Philippine Airport... "No Casualties" (Comprehensive Report 2)

Philippine Cebu Airport Runway Excursion During Landing
162 Passengers... No Casualties
Brake System Failure Suspected Cause
President Woo Ki-hong "Apologies for Concern... Working to Manage Situation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] A Korean Air passenger plane departing from Incheon and landing at Cebu Airport in the Philippines experienced an accident where it overran the runway after landing. So far, no casualties have been reported. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korean Air have stated that they are fully committed to managing the accident response.

According to the Ministry of Land on the 24th, the Korean Air A330-300 passenger plane (KE631), which departed Incheon International Airport at 6:35 PM the previous day and was heading to Mactan Airport in Cebu, made an abnormal landing at around 11:07 PM local time on the 23rd due to bad weather.

There were 162 passengers and 11 crew members on board. The passengers evacuated urgently via slides from the aircraft and moved to a local hotel. It has been confirmed that there have been no casualties so far. The aircraft is stopped near the runway with damage to the landing gear and the lower fuselage, resulting in the closure of the Cebu Airport runway.

Philippine authorities and the Ministry of Land suspect that the aircraft’s brake system likely malfunctioned and are investigating the exact cause of the accident. According to initial investigations, the pilot reported that the brake system warning light came on during landing and that the plane was unable to reduce speed on the runway. It is presumed that the brake hydraulic system was damaged due to impact on the wheels during the process of taking off again after two failed landing attempts.

The Ministry of Land has established an accident response headquarters to thoroughly manage the accident recovery related to this runway overrun incident. Immediately after receiving the accident report, the Ministry set up the response headquarters with the Director of Aviation Policy as the head. They are currently assessing the damage and establishing communication channels with local diplomatic missions and airlines to respond to the accident.

A Ministry of Land official stated, "Typically, investigations and cause identification for accidents occurring domestically take at least one year, but since this accident occurred overseas, it is expected to take even longer to determine the exact cause. Currently, the runway is closed, so the aircraft cannot be towed. After discussing the towing methods, we plan to specifically discuss passenger transfer measures."

Korean Air is also investigating the exact cause of the accident. They plan to send a replacement flight to transport passengers who were scheduled to return on the affected aircraft.

Woo Ki-hong, President of Korean Air, issued an apology on the day, saying, "I bow my head and apologize to everyone who supports Korean Air. Fortunately, no casualties have been confirmed, but I feel sorry for causing concern to the passengers and their families."

He added, "While doing our best to manage the situation, we will strive to ensure that passengers are served safely and comfortably without inconvenience. We will closely cooperate with local aviation and government authorities to resolve the situation as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, due to the closure of the Cebu Airport runway caused by this accident, flights between Incheon and Cebu are currently not operating. Philippine authorities planned to resume airport operations around 2 PM that day, but the reopening is expected to be delayed as there is no large crane available to move the accident aircraft. Additionally, if the accident response is delayed, domestic airlines plan to send flights to nearby airports to facilitate the return of passengers from Cebu to Incheon Airport.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.