South Korean government officials held a meeting on Wednesday with executives from eight of the country’s airlines at Gimpo International Airport to urge a renewed commitment to safety after an Asiana Airlines Airbus A320 skidded off the runway at Japan’s Hiroshima airport a day earlier. The accident, which injured at least 20 people, renewed concerns in South Korea about the image of the country’s airlines less than two years after an Asiana Boeing 777 crashed on approach to San Francisco International Airport, killing three passengers and injuring almost 200 others.
Although South Korean transport ministry has yet to confirm the cause of the accident, reports out of South Korea suggest the airplane struck an antenna from a communications tower on approach to the runway. Asiana Flight 162, carrying 73 passengers and seven crewmembers, came to a stop after skidding left off the runway at 8:05 p.m., causing the landing gear to collapse and leaving both wings and the left engine damaged. The A320 took off from Incheon International Airport in South Korea at 6:30 p.m.