(Jeju Air)
Low cost carrier Jeju Air is under investigation by the Transport Ministry after it was found to have flown one of its planes with a damaged winglet last week.
The airline’s 7C264 flight, which left Gimpo Airport on Wednesday morning, attempted landing on the runway at Gimhae International Airport in the afternoon. During the landing, the plane tilted to one side and the plane appears to have damaged its winglet during its second attempt at landing, sources close to the matter said on Monday.
After the turbulent landing, the airline failed to discover the damage to the winglet and the plane, carrying passengers, took off again and headed to Gimpo Airport.
Winglets, are features at the end of wings that are designed to reduce the aircraft’s vortex drag and inhibit turbulence.
“Jeju Air had a similar accident on March 8, which means it flew without being aware of damage to its plane for the second time in a row and we are taking this matter seriously,” said one official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Investigations into both incidents are currently ongoing with plans to fast-track the process, the official said.
“Strong administrative action” will be taken against the airline over the matter once the investigations are complete and any wrondoing is found, he added.
A Jeju Air plane was involved in a collision with an Air Seoul plane on the ground on Mar. 8, which left scratches on the Jeju Air plane and caused the tailplane of the Air Seoul plane to be bent.
Both airplanes were found to have flown soon after the accident, prompting the aviation authorities to investigate the matter the next day.
By Yim Hyun-su (
hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)