Air Force criticized for loosely enforcing sobriety rules, deadly runways

The Air Force has enforced its sobriety rules loosely, allowing some air traffic controllers to go on duty even after their blood-alcohol levels tested higher than the permissible limit last year under the pretext of testing errors, the Board of Audit and Inspection said Wednesday.

According to the results of a regular audit of the Air Force, 33 percent of personnel on air traffic control duty in August last year did not undergo sobriety tests. Moreover, nine controllers carried out their duties between February and August last year despite tests showing their blood-alcohol levels were at or above the threshold of 0.02 percent.

Testing errors were cited as a reason for allowing them to go on duty, the state auditor said.

Pilots were also allowed to conduct sobriety tests on their own without oversight, while maintenance personnel were expected to self-declare their sobriety without any testing. The state auditor warned that such lax enforcement of safety regulations threatens to undermine aviation safety.

Other safety problems were also found, including the installation of localizers, which send signals to help aircraft find the middle of the runway, on concrete structures 120 centimeters above the ground at five air bases.

Such a concrete mound for localizers was blamed for the deadly 2024 plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province that killed 179 passengers and crew members on board after the aircraft made a belly landing, collided with the structure and burst into flames.

Yonhap