MoLIT: "No Damage to Air Busan's Wings or Engines in Fire... Full Effort to Identify Cause"
by Choi Youngchan
Published 29 Jan.2025 15:32(KST)
Establishment of Central and Regional Accident Response Headquarters
Confirmation of Aircraft and Passenger Insurance Coverage
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the night of the 28th that the wings and engines on both sides of the Air Busan passenger plane fire at Gimhae Airport were confirmed to be undamaged.
They also stated that they will do their best to thoroughly investigate the cause, prevent recurrence, and compensate the victims.
According to the Ministry on the 29th, the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB), which was dispatched to the site immediately after the accident, has been investigating the cause of the accident since 5:55 a.m. that day, confirming that the wings and engines on both sides of the aircraft were not damaged.
This means that the cause of the fire was not related to the engine or other aircraft body issues, and the unidentified object inside the shelf mentioned by witnesses continues to be pointed out as the ignition point.
The Ministry has established a Central Accident Response Headquarters at the Sejong Government Complex and a Regional Accident Response Headquarters at Gimhae Airport to respond to the Air Busan passenger plane fire accident.
The Ministry also reported that all 176 passengers and crew members (169 passengers and 7 crew and maintenance staff) successfully evacuated, with 110 having returned home and 65 staying at hotels. The remaining one person is among the three minor injury patients from the accident and is currently hospitalized.
Regarding passenger compensation, the Ministry explained that Air Busan has insurance coverage with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance for the aircraft and passengers, which also includes compensation for passenger injuries and baggage.
Meanwhile, Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport received a report on the accident situation immediately after the accident on the 28th, instructed on the scale of damage and rescue, and visited the Central Accident Response Headquarters around 10:30 a.m. the following day to receive a report on the response status.
Minister Park said, "Following the Jeju Air passenger plane accident, aircraft accidents have occurred consecutively. We will do our utmost to prepare measures to prevent recurrence through thorough investigation of the causes and to support and compensate the victims."
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