During the aircraft maintenance process, actions such as violating the manufacturer's manual or arbitrarily changing inspection cycles were discovered, resulting in T'way Air, Jeju Air, and Korean Air being imposed a total penalty surcharge of 3.5 billion won. Eight related mechanics received suspension of their qualifications.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 27th that it imposed a total penalty surcharge of 3.538 billion won on the three airlines for violating the aviation safety law and confirmed the administrative sanction of suspending the qualifications of the eight mechanics for a certain period.
T'way Air was found to have omitted filter exchanges and hydraulic fluid component inspections during maintenance of the hydraulic system, violating regulations prohibiting the reuse of filters. Additionally, they implemented inspection for cracks on three B737-800 aircraft over an arbitrary cycle longer than the manufacturer's standard (7 days), and it was confirmed that they either deleted existing maintenance records or altered them inaccurately in case of defects reoccurring. For these three violations, a penalty surcharge of 2.605 billion won was imposed, and three mechanics received suspensions of 45 days, 30 days, and 15 days, respectively.
Jeju Air conducted pre- and post-flight inspections for two B737-800 aircraft beyond the regulated deadline of 48 hours, and it was revealed that they did not follow the troubleshooting procedures outlined in the manufacturer's manual in case of engine defects, resulting in repeated defects. As a result, a penalty surcharge of 800 million won was imposed, along with suspensions of qualifications for three mechanics: 30 days for one and 15 days for two.
Korean Air faced issues for failing to follow the manual while conducting maintenance on the control system of the A330-300 model (flap) by installing equipment on top of temporary fixation parts. Two mechanics involved received 15-day suspensions each, and Korean Air was imposed a penalty surcharge of 133 million won.
This sanction was finalized after going through the Administrative Sanction Review Committee, completing prior notice and hearing procedures for the airlines and their personnel.
An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted, "We will take strict action against violations of regulations that threaten aviation safety" and stated, "We will continuously strengthen management and supervision of maintenance and overall flight operations to ensure that airlines do not neglect safety investments."