Chinese airplane under probe over
unauthorized runway approach (Korea)
Korea's transportation
ministry has launched a probe into an incident involving two aircraft that
almost collided on Friday in fog on the runway of a provincial airport.
A
passenger airliner belonging to China Southern Airlines almost cut off one from
Korea's largest airline Korean Air on the runway at Cheongju International
Airport on Friday night, according to South Korea's transportation ministry.
There was no reported injury.
There was heavy fog at the time of the
incident, making it hard to discern other airplanes with the naked eye,
according to witnesses.
The Chinese plane carrying about 90 passengers
appeared to have approached the runway from the right while the Korean Air
airliner was making a landing at the airport in Cheongju, some 137 kilometers
south of Seoul, it said.
The Chinese plane had planned to take off for
Dalian after the Korean-flagged aircraft with 137 people on board passed the
airstrip.
The collision was averted when the pilots of the Korean Air
flight veered left as they were landing to keep as much distance as possible
from the Chinese airplane.
Dense fog could be blamed for the Chinese
airliner entering the runway, as it went passed the stop line before receiving
approval for take-off from the control tower, according to a government
source.
The ministry said that it has launched an investigation into the
incident, based on the communication records of the two airplanes' pilots with
the airport's control tower and other evidence.
If China Southern
Airlines is found to have violated relevant aviation law, the government plans
to request Chinese authorities take punitive actions, it said. (Yonhap)
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