An aviation expert explains a very simple change could have meant that every passenger survived the harrowing crash.
South Korea is currently in a seven-day period of mourning following the worst ever domestic civil aviation disaster.
Authorities have confirmed that 179 out of the total 181 people onboard have died following the Jeju Air Flight 2216 on Sunday (December 29).
While it is not clear exactly what happened to cause the incident, footage from the airport shows the plane skidding across the runway without its landing gear open before it collided with the wall and burst into flames.
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David Learmount, who is the operations and safety editor of Flight International magazine and an aviation expert, explained that more passengers would have had a chance of survival if one change was made.
Speaking to Sky News, he took great issue with the concrete wall at the end of the runway. Of the videos circulating on social media of the crash, the plane is seen sliding along the runway, but still relatively intact.
The plane then explodes into a ball of fire after it crashes headfirst into the wall.
He said: “Not only is there no justification [for the wall to be there], I think it's verging on criminal to have it there.
"That kind of structure should not be there. That is awful. That is unbelievably awful.
"He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground."
The concrete wall at the South Korean airport was part of a guidance system at the end of the runway, which was supposed to help pilots land when visibility is poor or at night.
However, Learmount argued he hadn’t seen a similar layout at other airports. People have also questioned the significance of the concrete wall in the crash.
The expert also suggested that if the Boeing 737-800 had not smashed into the wall, it would have instead smashed through a perimeter fence and across a road before coming to a stop in a nearby field.
He added: “To have a hard object about 200m or less into the overrun, I've never seen anything like this anywhere ever before.
"There was plenty of space for the aircraft to have slowed down, come to a halt.
"And I think everybody would have been alive...the pilots might have suffered some damage going through the security fence or something like that.
"But I even suspect they might have survived."
Topics: Korea, News, Travel, World News, Jeju Air
Gerrard Kaonga