The Japan Transport Safety Bureau has confirmed that the Asiana Airlines Airbus A320 struck a localiser antenna before skidding off the runway during a landing accident at Hiroshima.
An investigator from the Bureau tells Flightglobal the aircraft struck the antenna during landing on the evening of 14 April, but could not clarify if that indicates that the aircraft's approach had put it short of the runway.
Photographs available on the internet show that the damaged antenna is located towards the end of the runway. They also show that the aircraft appears to have sustained damage to its left engine.
Asiana released an updated statement on 15 April, apologising for the incident. It also updated the number of passengers who suffered minor injuries from 18 to 25. Twenty-four passengers have since been discharged while one remains in hospital for treatment.
“Asiana Airlines has set up a command centre to offer our full commitment to passengers and will continue to cooperate with relevant government agencies in the ongoing investigation,” the statement adds.
The A320, registered HL7762, was built and delivered in 2007. The airline says that the senior pilot on board has logged 8,233 flying hours, while the co-pilot has a total of 1,583 hours.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
