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A Korean Air flight with 173 passengers and crew aboard overshot its landing strip at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, partially crashing. The above photo shows the crashed plane on Oct. 24. (Yonhap)

A Korean Air passenger plane carrying around 170 passengers and crew overran a runway while attempting a late-night landing in poor weather conditions at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines.

While there was no loss of life or serious injury, the aircraft was severely damaged. It’s been suggested that the plane’s braking mechanism may have malfunctioned during two landing attempts prior to the final one.

According to accounts Monday from the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Korean Air, a Korean Air A300-300 aircraft (Flight KE631) that had departed from Incheon International Airport on Sunday overran the runway while landing at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines.

Korean Air explained that the airplane “landed at 11:07 pm (local time) on Oct. 23, around one half later than its originally scheduled arrival, after making three [landing] attempts due to deteriorating local weather conditions, but overran the runway.”

The 162 passengers and 11 crew members on the aircraft exited by slide after the abnormal landing. While there were no serious injuries, some of the elderly and other passengers underwent health checks at a clinic in the airport before continuing to their accommodations.

The mishap is believed to have resulted from a braking failure. In initial questioning at the scene, the airplane’s captain reportedly said that after the aircraft made another go-around when the second landing attempt failed, a warning light was observed on the brake’s oil pressure gauge.

The A330-300 plane bound for Mactan-Cebu International Airport international airport in the Philippines from Korea’s Incheon International Airport flew in the above pattern, according to flight record site Flightradar24. (Yonhap)

The airplane’s wheels reportedly collided roughly with the ground during the second landing attempt as it was forced downward by heavy wind shear, and the brake system appears to have malfunctioned in the process.

After the warning light went on in the brake’s oil pressure gauge, an emergency announcement was issued for an abnormal landing, as the pilots attempted a third landing according to control tower instructions. The overrun occurred when the airplane was unable to slow down sufficiently.

Questions now appear likely to be raised over whether it was appropriate to make another attempt to land at the airport when weather conditions were poor enough to require two previous go-arounds.

During the landing attempt, heavy winds and turbulence were present on the runway, and pilots were unable to establish visibility. The instrument landing system used to provide runway guidance during landing had reportedly been out of operation since early last month.

Since the landing decision was based on the control tower’s determination and could not have been made by the pilots on their own, the airport in the Philippines may also be held responsible for the incident. Some observers in the aviation world suggested the emergency landing decision may have been unavoidable, given the problems with the aircraft.

Korean Air President Woo Kee-hong issued an apology early Monday morning.

“A thorough investigation will be performed together with the local aviation authorities and Korean authorities to determine the cause(s) of this event,” it said.

By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter; Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter

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