Korean Air's (KAL) safety record was dealt a further blow when a Boeing 747-400 suffered major damage and passenger injuries on landing at Seoul's Kimpo Airport on 5 August. The incident occurred only days after a high-level flight operations shake-up and as KAL considers a $21.5 million flight operations reform proposal from Delta Air Lines.
The incident occurred in bad weather at night. Almost exactly a year ago - on 6 August, 1997 - a KAL 747-300 crashed into a low hill on a bad-weather night approach at Guam, killing 225 of the 254 people on board.
This time, 27 out of 395 people were injured as the 747 skidded off Kimpo's runway 14R. The main landing gear sheared off and all four engines and the left wing were damaged. The aircraft came to rest with its nose facing the runway, 126m (410ft) right of the centre line.
The 747 landed in heavy rain, with visibility of 1,000m and a 25kt (45km/h) crosswind. KAL says the preceding flight had reported "windshear and a lot of turbulence" on approach.
KAL has replaced several senior vice-presidents, including the head of flight operations, describing the move as "routine position changes". The carrier denies that the decisions relate to audits of its flight operations by the Flight Safety Foundation in April and more recently by code-share partner Delta.
Delta has since presented KAL with a proposal for a flight operations overhaul. The plan is understood to include recruiting 235 more captains, cutting flying hours for its 1,500 pilots, and contracting in all flight management positions.
Poor cockpit resource management, "autocratic" captain-crew relationships and fatigue have all been cited as possible factors in the Guam crash, although a final report has yet to be released. KAL has already improved training, implemented a confidential crew reporting system and begun fitting aircraft with enhanced ground proximity warning systems.
Source: Flight International
