Flight instructors and pilots using Jeonnam Muan International Airport said they were unaware of the presence of the concrete mound for the runway's localizer in advance. A pilot-turned-YouTuber who has operated the same aircraft type as the actual accident aircraft pointed out that the concrete mound at the end of the runway is the problem.
According to Yonhap News on the 3rd, a flight instructor and pilot, identified as A, who has used Muan Airport for the past seven years, said, "Over the years, I only confirmed the mound from above during takeoff and landing and naturally thought it was a dirt pile; I never imagined it would be concrete." He added, "The information about it being a 2-meter high and 4-meter thick concrete mass isn't mentioned in the airport charts, and there has been no separate guidance, so other pilots were unaware as well."
Every time he used the airport, he acknowledged the risk of bird strikes and monitored flocks of birds through the Aeronautical Information Service (ATIS). A noted, "It feels like every year there is some damage from bird strikes to the wings or other areas," adding, "I always check the weather conditions through frequency, and recently, Muan Airport has issued daily bird activity reports, and air traffic controllers have contacted us when they see birds on the runway." He further inferred, "In the case of the accident aircraft, it would have been much harder to deal with a bird strike due to its large size."
A YouTuber and former pilot of the Boeing 737-800, which is the same aircraft type as the accident plane, stated in a video titled "The belly landing at Muan Airport was the best, but ultimately this was the problem" on the 2nd that "the pilots made the best belly landing."
He raised concerns about the concrete mound. He said, "If there had been no concrete mound, there would have been plenty of room to slow down as we slid along. The issue is not that we touched down on the runway, but because of the concrete mound."
He continued, "The captain and first officer pulled the reverse thrust right up until the collision, trying to keep the plane from hitting the ground. If there was something unknown to the pilots, it would be Muan Airport's concrete mound. This is significant enough to explode if a KTX travels and hits it. Nowhere in the world has a localizer installed on top of a concrete mound. The structures of the airports where concrete mounds are installed all need to be demolished and replaced."
It was noted that the absence of an Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) at domestic airports is regrettable. The EMAS is made of breakable foam concrete that shatters like a toothpick when a plane goes off the runway, stopping the aircraft.
He said, "Many international airports have EMAS, which helps in deceleration. However, the reason for not installing EMAS here is that it is a one-time use. Once it is used and shattered, it needs to be laid again. But nothing is more important than human life. If we eliminate the concrete mound and install EMAS, it could help decelerate even if the landing gear does not deploy, saving many lives."