Asiana Airlines refused to comment as news of one of the two still missing pilots has taken out a number of life and property insurance policies before the crash of one of its cargo planes.
The Boeing-747 aircraft, operated by South Korea’s second-largest air carrier, crashed into waters about 107 kilometres west of the southern resort island of Jeju early Thursday.
According to industry sources, the pilot’s personal claims on the seven insurance policies total more than 3 billion won (US$2.85 million).
“We are now focusing on finding the cause of the crash,” said an official of the airline. “We can’t comment on the pilot’s personal matters.”
Local maritime police are still searching for the two pilots who went missing when the cargo plane crashed into the sea.
The crash was presumably caused when some inflammable materials in the 58-tonne cargo hold caught fire, the airline and maritime police said. There may have been a fire on board before the crash, the country’s transportation ministry also said earlier. But the exact cause will remain unknown until the aircraft’s voice recorder and black box flight recorder are found and analysed.
Asiana Airlines said earlier the crash of its cargo freighter caused 200 billion won of damage. The freighter was heading to Shanghai from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport.
Source : Bernama
