Concrete barrier blamed for fatal Jeju Air jet crash built to save money: Audit

A simulation found that all passengers would have survived had the concrete structure not been present. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SEOUL - A concrete barrier blamed for a deadly South Korean jet crash that killed 179 people in December 2024 had been built to cut costs, the state auditor said on on March 10.

Jeju Air Flight 2216 was coming in to land at Muan International Airport from Thailand when it struck a flock of birds and was forced to make a belly landing.

While the pilots managed to put the aircraft down and slide it along the runway, it burst into a fireball after colliding with a concrete structure buried inside a mound at the end of the runway, killing 179 people on board.

Only two flight attendants seated in the tail section survived.

A government-commissioned simulation released earlier in 2026 found that all passengers would have survived had the concrete structure supporting the localisers – a navigation antenna system that helps aircraft during landing – not been present.

The Board of Audit and Inspection said in a report that the concrete structure had been built by the transport ministry as it “sought to reduce costs”.