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South Korea Orders Review of Airbus A320 Pilots After Jet Skids Off Runway

A plane from the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines after it skidded off the runway this week at Hiroshima Airport in Japan. Credit Yomiuri Shimbun/European Pressphoto Agency

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea said on Wednesday that it would review the qualifications of all the pilots of Airbus A320 passenger jets flown by carriers based in the country, one day after one of the airplanes skidded off a runway while landing at Hiroshima Airport in Japan.

Twenty-five people had minor injuries in the accident on Tuesday, according to the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines. The Airbus A320, operated by Asiana, approached the runway so low that it clipped a 20-foot-tall wireless communication tower that stood almost 1,000 feet before the runway.

Two years ago, another Asiana plane, a Boeing 777, crashed at San Francisco International Airport after its tail touched a sea wall as the jet came in too low. The accident, said to have been caused by pilot error, left three people dead and more than 180 injured.

Japanese news reports about Tuesday's accident included photographs that showed damage to the communications tower, which was used to send signals to incoming planes. Part of the tower's antenna was found stuck in the plane's landing gear, they said.

On Wednesday, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport called in the top managers of all South Korean airline companies to instruct them to bolster airplane maintenance and pilot training. It also told reporters that it would conduct a review of all Airbus A320 pilots for job suitability, especially checking their ability to deal with emergencies.

Yeo Hyung-ku, vice minister for transport, said that airline companies needed to consider the mental state of pilots as a potential cause of an accident, in an apparent reference to the pilot at the controls of the Germanwings jetliner that crashed into the French Alps last month.

All 11 Airbus A320 jets in South Korea are operated by Asiana and its affiliate, Air Busan.

The Asiana plane involved in the Hiroshima accident was carrying 73 passengers and eight crew members from Incheon International Airport in South Korea.

It careered off the tarmac and rotated almost 180 degrees before coming to a halt on the grass beside the runway. All the passengers were evacuated using escape chutes.

Asiana Airlines A320 Skids After Landing at Hiroshima, Japan: Reports

An Asiana Airlines passenger jet skidded after landing at Japan's Hiroshima Airport Tuesday, local media reported.

Local television pictures showed the Airbus A320 resting on the runway with no sign of its landing gear.

Flight OZ162 had arrived from the airline's home base in Seoul, Korea.

The city's fire department said a 46-year-old woman was being treated for head injuries, a 29-year-old woman had a bruised hip and a third non-Japanese passenger was also injured, Asahi Shimbun reported.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said 20 of the 74 passengers on board were injured.

Sparks were seen coming from the aircraft as it skidded on the runway surface, airport workers told the local fire department according to NHK.

Kyodo News said the remaining passengers had been taken from the plane to the airport terminal.

NBC News could not immediately confirm the reports.

On July 2013 an Asiana Boeing 777 crashed short of the runway as it attempted to land at San Francisco International Airport, killing three people.