We were able to deal with an emergency situation successfully thanks to the active assistance from the control tower and the calm response of the flight attendants and passengers, said the pilot, Lee Chang-ho (45) and co-pilot, Kim Yong-ik (40).
These pilots experienced a critical situation on Friday, when an Asiana Airlines Airbus 321 (Flight 8942) was damaged by lightning and hailstones.
The aircraft departed from Jeju Island at 4:45 p.m. heading to Gimpo International Airport with around 200 passengers. An hour later, when the aircraft was above Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, a big bang was heard. Hailstones the size of either a baseball or a ping pong ball crashed against the cockpit windows, obstructing the pilots view.
The aircraft`s nose radome housing the radar antenna completely fell apart from the main body. The aircraft shook violently. The planes automatic operation system broke down as well. Lee said, I felt as if I was literally hit by a lightning, because the finely cracked window provided zero visibility. Lee immediately switched to manual operation calmly following the guideline, and requested Gimpo control tower for an emergency landing.
With the speedometer malfunctioning as well, the pilots kept asking the control tower for information about the speed and the aircrafts current location. The control tower also did its part for a successful landing, closing runways and prohibiting other planes to land or depart.
Lee told flight attendants to be prepared for an emergency situation and calm the passengers. Flight attendants calmed the terrified passengers and instructed them of the position to hold at emergency landings.
Lee continued to correspond wirelessly with the control tower and looked down to the runway through the side windows that were not cracked. To check whether the landing gear was in operation, the plane first lowered its altitude before taking off once more.
As the aircraft, which seemed to be landing on the runway, took off one more time, the passengers were horror-struck. The plane successfully landed at around 6:14 p.m., 15 minutes later than the original time planned.
Lee was finally relieved when passengers thanked him for saving their lives.
Lee had piloted fighters for 13 years after he graduated from the Korea Air Force Academy in 1984 before he was transferred to the first reserve as a wing commander. In March 1997, Lee joined Asiana Airlines and possesses a record of 6,950 hours of safe flights without accidents.
He said, As for fighters, sallying forth is the priority, but for passenger flights, safe operation is the most important thing. I was confident that Id be able to overcome any crisis, because I was trained with simulation drills in preparation for emergency situations.
Meanwhile, Asiana confirmed on Sunday that the breakdown of the nose radome was because of hailstones, not lightning.
Asiana Airlines decided to award both pilots a well done award, the highest citation the company grants to pilots, which has only been awarded once since the carrier`s founding. It highly appreciated the pilots calm response, which saved the lives of the passengers.
To clarify the exact cause of the accident, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation is conducting an examination on the plane looking for any possibility of poor maintenance of the aircraft.
Hankuk Aviation University professor Song Byong-heum said, It is a very rare case for a part of an aircraft to break apart entirely, because it is made of materials that are resistant to outside shocks and do not deform easily. If the hailstones hit mainly the frontal part of the aircraft, such an accident can happen.