Presidents jet forced to divert to Incheon Airport

By Lee Hyo-sik

A Korean Air jet carrying President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Kim Yoon-ok bound for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was forced to divert to Incheon International Airport Saturday, following a technical glitch.

The Boeing 747 leased from Korean Air, the nation’s largest flagship carrier, took off from a military airport south of Seoul at 8:10 a.m. Saturday morning.

About 30 minutes after take-off, a minor technical problem with the aircraft over the West Sea forced it to return to Incheon Airport.

Before landing at 9:40 a.m., the plane circled over the water for about an hour to dump fuel.

It was the first time for a presidential jet to make an unscheduled landing due to mechanical trouble since the founding of the country in 1948.

Cheong Wa Dae alternately leases airplanes from Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. In April 2010, the government signed a five-year contract with Korean Air to use its airplanes for the President’s overseas trips. Under the supervision of the Air Force, the commercial airline is responsible for the maintenance of the jets.

Presidential aides told reporters aboard the plane that the diversion was due to an unidentified noise and vibration coming from a lower part of the aircraft.

“A clicking noise was audible from the bottom of the airplane. But it was not serious enough to compromise flight safety. As a precautionary measure, we decided to return to Incheon Airport,” said Hong Sang-pyo, presidential secretary for public affairs.

According to Korean Air, a faulty cover inside a ventilation system located on the bottom of the airplane was the cause of the unusual noise. Mechanics immediately fixed the glitch and after refueling, the presidential jet took off once more from Incheon at 11:15 a.m.

“The airplane’s air conditioning system was responsible for the noise. The plane returned to Incheon Airport for inspection and took off smoothly after the problem was dealt with,” a Korean Air spokesman said.

As a result, President Lee arrived in the Middle Eastern country two hours behind schedule.

Saturday’s unprecedented emergency landing of a presidential jet has further tarnished the image of Korean Air, which has already been suffering from a series of faulty maintenance incidents.

Seven airplanes operated by Korean Air had to either make diverted landings or depart behind schedule over the past four months, due mainly to engine trouble and maintenance-related problems. It forced a number of its passenger airplanes to operate behind schedule and caused a great deal of inconvenience to passengers, not to mention blemishing their public relations.

A bigger issue is that these mishaps took place even after the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs’ extensive safety inspection of Korean Air’s fleet in late October. The five-day inspection was launched to probe three previous incidents in which airplanes were forced to make emergency landings due to engine problems.

대통령 전용기 비상착륙

아랍에미레이트를 방문하기 위해 이명박 대통령과 영부인 김윤옥 여사를 태운 대한항공 전용기가 토요일 아침 기술적인 결함으로 인천국제공항에 불시착하는 일이 벌어졌다.

대통령 전용기 보잉 747기는 서울 공항으로부터 토요일 오전 8시 10분에 이륙했으나 이륙한지 30여분 만에 기체 이상으로 인천공항으로 돌아와야만 했다.

대통령이 탑승한 전용기가 회항한 것은 민간 항공사의 특별기를 전용기로 바꾼 이후 처음 발생했으며, 역대 정권을 통틀어서도 이번이 처음인 것으로 알려졌다 최근 정비불량으로 물의를 일으키고 있는 대한항공은 이번 사건으로 회사 이미지에 더욱 큰 타격을 받게 됐다

이와 관련 이와 관련, 홍상표 청와대 홍보수석은 기자들과 만나 "기체 안쪽에서 딸그락 소리가 났으나 비행 안전과는 무관하다"면서 "그러나 일단 안전점검 차원에서 인천공항에 착륙했었다"고 말했다.

대한항공 등에 따르면 전용기의 아래쪽 외부공기 흡입구 내 에어 커버 장치에 이상이 생겨 소음이 발생했던 것으로 전해졌다. 현재 대통령 전용기의 정비는 공군의 감독 하에 대한항공이 맡고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.

전용기는 기체 점검을 마친 뒤 재급유를 하고 이날 오전 11시15분께 UAE로 다시 출발했다.

이에 따라 UAE 도착시각은 2시간 가량 늦어졌다

청와대는 대통령의 외국순방 때마다 양대 국적항공사인 대한항공과 아시아나항공의 민간항공기를 번갈아 이용해 왔으나 지난 2010년 4월부터는 대한항공에서 장기임차 형식으로 빌려 전용 운항해 왔다.