An airline has said it will investigate a number of its staff after they opened an emergency exit and posed for photos on the plane wing.
The incident happened while Eastar Jet Flight 703 was delayed by more than an hour. The delay was due to over four centimetres of snow temporarily closing the runway. Images taken from afar show how three uniformed stewardesses climbed onto the left wing of the Boeing 737 to pose for pictures.
The scenes unfolded on Wednesday (12 Feb) morning at Cheongju International Airport, South Korea. The flight was destined for Jeju Island, as reported by NeedToKnow. Because Cheongju Airport is designated as a military facility, photography and videography are strictly prohibited. Offenders face up to three years in prison or fines of up to 30m KRW (£16,493), according to local media.
Eastar Jet, which is headquartered in Seoul, has since denied the emergency exit was opened specifically to take photos. The low-cost carrier said the crew was instructed to open the door as part of their training during the delay. A spokesperson for the company said: “The airline took advantage of the waiting time caused by heavy snow and conducted an emergency exit training that is normally difficult to carry out.” However, the airline did acknowledge that the stewardesses’ actions were inappropriate and said it would investigate.
It comes after a number of stories linked to the aviation industry emerged from South Korea over the past few months. Last month, officials produced bombshell DNA evidence while investigating the horrifying Jeju Air disaster – in which 181 people died when a Boeing 737-800 plane crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in December.
The preliminary report released by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board revealed that bird DNA and blood stains were found in both the plane’s engines. According to the report: “The samples were sent to specialised organisations for DNA analysis, and a domestic organisation identified them as belonging to Baikal teals.”
Baikal teals are a species of migratory duck. The report also referenced two black boxes that were recovered and stated they stopped recording about four minutes before the deadly impact. The missing four minutes could represent a hurdle for investigators wanting to bring closure to the victims’ families as it complicates finding out the cause of the crash.
Last month’s air disaster was the deadliest in modern South Korean history and resulted in the deaths of 181 people on board. Only two people survived the crash and were seated a the back of the plane. The front of the Boeing 737-800 plane smashed into a wall after it skidded down the runway at Muan International airport on December 29.
Its landing gear failed to deploy resulting in the plane hitting the concrete and subsequently bursting into flames. The flight had set off from Bangkok, Tailand, and all but two of the victims were returning to South Korea.
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories