Two weeks after an Airbus A330-300 overshot the runway during a landing attempt, the remains of the severely damaged aircraft still remain at Cebu International Airport in the Philippines. However, the name and logo of Korean Air – the aircraft’s operator, have been erased from the fuselage, leaving only the blue paint livery.
Damaged beyond repair
The aircraft in question is registered as HL-7525 with MSN 219, a nearly 25-year-old Airbus A330-300 that was first delivered to Korean Air on June 26th, 1998. Unfortunately, HL-7525 was operating Korean Air Flight KE 631 on October 23rd from Seoul to Cebu for what would eventually turn out to be the aircraft’s final flight.
After two previous unsuccessful landing attempts due to poor weather and even poorer weather conditions, the pilots of KE 631 tried for a third attempt and were not so lucky as the aircraft overshot the runway. While it was extremely fortunate that all 173 people onboard were evacuated safely with only minor injuries, the same could not be said for HL-7525.
The damage to the Airbus widebody was extensive, as the nose landing gear and forward lower fuselage was ripped away. A large hole was also visible on the upper fuselage, and the aircraft engines were relatively crushed in the ground. Putting it simply, HL-7525 was damaged beyond repair, and Korean Air gradually wrote the aircraft off for the scrapping process.
Scrapping in progress
Given the extent of the damage suffered by HL-7525, it is understandable why Korean Air would want the aircraft to be scrapped where it currently sits. However, it has been two weeks on, and the progress of the scrapping process does not seem to be moving along. Besides having its cargo door removed on the fourth day of its runway excursion, the Airbus widebody seems relatively untouched.
Despite the slow scrapping progress, there is still several visible difference about HL-7525. The airline’s name and logo are removed from the aircraft’s fuselage and tail, alongside the registration and SkyTeam alliance logo. And the only visual cues highlighting that the aircraft ever belonged to Korean Air are its logo on the wingtip and the sky blue colors of the airline’s livery.
Otherwise, worksites are still seen around the damaged aircraft, but not much equipment nor vehicle is seen. It is currently unknown what could be slowing down the scrapping process.
Bottom line
It is always unfortunate to see any aircraft being severely damaged and then getting written off. Having served the SkyTeam alliance member airline for over two decades, HL-7525 is currently the first of Korean Air’s current Airbus A330-300 fleet to be written off, leaving the airline with just 21 of the aircraft type and another eight of the smaller -200 variant.
And unfortunately for Cebu International Airport, the sad sight of HL-7525 will continue to be on its grounds unless the scrapping process quickens, which will hopefully be the case soon.