BEIJING: In response to recent fatal Azerbaijan Airlines and Jeju Air plane crashes, China has ramped up safety measures to ensure the continued safety of the country’s civil aviation sector. These measures include enhanced bird strike prevention and comprehensive runway safety inspections, officials from the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.
Shu Mingjiang, chief safety officer at the CAAC, emphasized these efforts during a news conference in Beijing on Friday, while discussing the importance of learning from the recent tragedies.
The announcement of the enhanced measures comes after the two significant accidents raised global concerns about aviation safety. On Dec 25, a passenger plane en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, crashed near Aktau International Airport in western Kazakhstan. Initial reports said the crash, which resulted in the deaths of 38 people, was caused by a bird strike. Azerbaijan’s president said the plane had been damaged by accidental shooting from the ground in Russia, media reported. Just days later, on Dec 29, a Jeju Air flight crashed while attempting to land at Muan International Airport, approximately 290 kilometers from Seoul, killing 179. The crash was reportedly caused by a landing gear failure, which led to the aircraft landing without properly functioning wheels, causing the jet to skid off the runway and crash into a perimeter wall. In response to these incidents, the CAAC has outlined several actions to address safety concerns. One of the primary focuses is improving bird strike prevention, which has been identified as a significant threat to flight safety. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
