Anxious pilot, oil leaking engine… ‘Hi-Air’ dizzying flight

■ Do you know ‘HI AIR’?

The sky road, which was closed due to Corona 19, is slowly opening and the holiday season is approaching. You are looking for places like Korean Air and Asiana, which are full service carriers, or Jin Air and T’way, which are classified as low cost carriers. Small airlines are the place for those who want to save money or have the wrong departure time when traveling to ‘interregional areas’ rather than in large cities like Seoul or Busan. It only operates on aircraft with 50 seats or less. Right now, there is only one place, ‘Hi Air’. Since December 2019, it has been operating to five destinations, including Seoul, Ulsan, Jeju, Sacheon, and Muan, with three aircraft painted in blue, pink, and yellow green. Of course, the most important thing is passenger safety, right? Hi Air also emphasizes ‘absolute safety’. Is it well maintained?

■ Three letters of ‘CEO’ and ‘free pass’ for pilot recruitment and training

Hi Air will announce the pilot recruitment in the second half of 2020. For young people who dream of flying at a time when the job market is frozen due to Corona 19, it was like rain in a drought. Even as a new airline, 406 people applied. In the document screening, which is the first gate, I passed the 41st place. However, when I checked the ranks of the three finalists in the document screening, they were 165th, 204th, and 312th. In the ‘remarks’ where each applicant writes something special, “All of them said ‘CEO’, and about 11 people including them wrote this memo. In addition, the person who wrote OOO Director-General’s son (son) / OOO Director’s recommendation There were also some, but it went up from 176th to 29th.

What about the 400 or so applicants who were eliminated from the document screening process? There was also a person who had the experience of ‘Korean Air first officer’ and ‘1,475 hours of flight’. When I called, they were all indignant. In particular, a 40-year-old applicant, Mo Kim, is particularly memorable. It is said that he completely abandoned his dream of flying after being hired at the time. I called more than once a day for ten days to meet Mr. Kim, but unfortunately we could not meet. This is because they are barely making a living by working as a delivery driver during the day and as a surrogate driver at night. Gam hung up the phone and left this message after saying, “It’s too bad that we don’t have time to meet.”

Kim OO / At the time, those who were eliminated from the document screening

“It’s a life where you have to drive 12 hours a day to give 80,000 won to your house. My heart was pounding when I heard about the high-air document screening process. I can’t calm down my excitement, so it’s still a rest area (highway). If I die tomorrow, take another flight today. I want to do it”

High Air’s co-pilot’s seat is so desperate for some, who’s sitting now?

The three finalists, who were recommended by the ‘CEO’ with poor grades, start training to acquire pilot qualifications. In order to participate in the pilot qualification examination organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, you must be recommended by the High Air pilot instructor. The training process consists of 1. Ground education: theory study / 2. Flight simulator training: training to cope with emergency situations such as engine failure / 3. Flight experience training: training to directly operate an airplane carrying passengers with an instructor will proceed in order. Normally, flight experience training judges pass or fail within 40 rounds. “If your skills are a little disappointing, you give them 20 more chances.” The evaluation that this is also unusual is dominant.

At first, the three finalists also received 40 training opportunities, but were judged ineligible. Then, through the qualification review committee, I trained 20 more times, and I was judged ineligible again. At the time of the qualification review committee, even though it was concluded that “the development of skills cannot be expected even with additional training” and “the final stage, “It is impossible to proceed with the qualification examination by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.” Five members of the committee agreed unanimously. However, Hi Air also opened a personnel committee and gave another 40 training opportunities. During the coverage, pilots, university professors, and even officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who had pilot experience, all said, “Where is this kind of training? “, he said with his tongue out. Hi Air said, “There is no legal conflict. We have coordinated with the Busan Aviation Administration.” Even after conducting a training that cannot be found in similar examples in the industry, they say, ‘It doesn’t matter because there are no laws or regulations that fit that. This is the evaluation of the incumbent pilots of other airlines who have trained co-pilots with 23 years of flight experience.

Park Sang-mo / Secretary General of the Korea Pilots’ Union Federation

I think it should be viewed as a project that started from recruitment with everything in mind from the beginning to acquiring the qualifications of first officer. (If three co-pilots are flying with the captain) In a very urgent situation, the help of the person next to you is very urgent. The collaboration between the two is very important. When it comes to emergency treatment, if I talk to him, he confirms me and cooperation is very important, so can I have that kind of trust?

Oh, how did you check the list of successful applicants for the document screening that was sleeping in the hi-air cabinet? It is said that the captain’s instructors, who supervised the pilot qualification training of the three finalists who joined the company, came to the HR department directly after deciding that their skills were “too bad”. “What is the criteria for getting a job?” he asked. In the process, we confirmed the fact that the captain’s instructors wrote ‘CEO recommendation’ on the list of successful applicants for the document screening. Hi Air decided to leave the company and reported it as it continued to give training opportunities to three people who were judged ineligible several times, and even delayed payment of wages due to financial difficulties. All of them said, “It is sad to see a company established with the purpose of “reducing the regional transportation gap” to be broken.

■ CEO Yoon Hyung-kwan dismissed “it’s not a preference”, but it turns out…

In the end, only the CEO, Hyung-kwan Yoon, will know the answer. I went to the Hi Air headquarters where CEO Yoon went to work. Following the guidance of the staff, I was able to enter the president’s room. The room marked ‘CEO’ was open, but it didn’t feel popular. At the same time, the secretarial staff came out, and when they asked if there was CEO Yoon, they kept saying, “If you leave, I’ll guide you.” Reluctantly, as I was about to turn around, I found CEO Yoon sitting in the conference room. If he had only believed the words of the staff and went back, he would not have been able to guarantee when he would have met CEO Yoon. In the end, after waiting for over two hours, I met CEO Yoon. Neither ‘CEO recommendation’ nor ‘extraordinary training’ repeated the words “I don’t know” over and over again. By the way, I asked about the applicants who became bridesmaids, and they got into the car without saying anything. In response to my question, CEO Yoon said:

Hyung-Kwan Yoon / CEO of Hi Air

(People who should have failed in the document screening went up after being recommended by the CEO) There is not. something like that (You don’t know at all?) I can’t figure out the content at all. It’s a very old story (Give me more training opportunities. Have you never been instructed like this?) Oh, nothing like that. This is a story to be objective, so am I going to say something like that arbitrarily?

However, the transcript we obtained contained words that were different from CEO Yoon’s answer.

Hyung-Kwan Yoon / CEO of Hi Air (Last January, during a conversation with executives and staff)

I said to the team leaders (instructors) that it was a bit too harsh, and I don’t have a lot of trust in the team leaders, so I can’t trust them 100%. So, I would like to change the team leader and objectively do this one more time and give him a chance. I was going to cut everything in front of you, but I came all the way here, but I wish I could give you one more chance objectively, that’s what I asked for…

■ Hi Air and Busan Aviation Administration exchanged ‘back money’

How has a company like this managed to survive until now? As I started researching oversight agencies, I discovered something interesting. Large and low-cost airlines are managed and supervised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, while Hi Air, which is classified as a small airline, is managed and supervised by the Busan Regional Aviation Administration. I came across a new fact while researching the process of Hi Air getting approval from the Busan Aviation Administration. It is said that CEO Yoon and Kim Mo, an employee of the Busan Aviation Administration, who was in charge of key tasks at the time of licensing and licensing, were accused of exchanging money and handed over to the prosecution. Although the police did not clearly state the cost of the bribe, it was determined that an implied solicitation was possible simply by inappropriate money flowing between the supervisory authority and the supervised company. In addition, among the current and former employees of Hi Air, there were only about 5 people from the Busan Regional Aviation Administration that we checked. There were also many testimonies that they had been in close discussions with the Busan Regional Aviation Administration before licensing. For reference, Hi Air currently employs about 140 employees, but it is said that over 120 have quit in the last two years.

■ Busan Aviation Administration “How do you catch all the thieves?”

‘Is the management and supervision of Hi Air going well?’ Again it wasn’t. In 2020, there was a fuel leak shortly after a Hi Air aircraft landed at Ulsan Airport. The captain, who operated the aircraft at the time, testified that “oil leaked while flying on the ground with passengers on board.” He also said, “I have informed the company of this fact.” When we checked with the Busan Aviation Administration, they said, “We have never received a report.” To be precise, he said, “There was a small amount of fuel leaking, and it wasn’t a reportable thing, not an in-flight event.” However, when we show you the video we secured, the words change slightly. He said, “It’s not a small leak,” and “I will start a full re-investigation.” The Busan Aviation Administration emphasized that even after the fuel spill accident, “we carry out regular supervision”. This fuel leak was also a case of the Busan Aviation Administration belatedly finding out when we asked for an explanation when we started the coverage. In addition, after hearing this answer, the only question left was, ‘Is this fuel spill the only cause of this unreported flight failure?’

Busan Regional Aviation Administration / Officials

(If you don’t watch it on High Air, you have no choice but to know) It’s a bit difficult to check if you’re determined and don’t say anything. We can’t catch all the thieves. As for the police, if it happened during taxiing (ground operation), it is an aviation safety problem and we have to take administrative action. We will investigate this matter again.

■ Hi Air, who said “I’m going to interview”, suddenly canceled and had no contact

On the 27th of last month, I went to the Hi Air headquarters to meet CEO Yoon. A week ago, on the 20th of last month, I had my first call with the vice president after going through the Hi Air Management Support Office. At the time, we clearly stated the purpose of the interview, saying, “We would like to hear about the report on Hi Air’s hiring corruption and CEO Yoon’s bribery allegations.” Then the vice president also said, “I have prepared material to explain, so I will respond to the interview.” He showed strong confidence, saying, “Not only CEO Yoon, but the executives will also participate.” Then, on the 23rd, I was informed that I would have a two-hour interview from 3 pm. Thank you very much, but honestly, I was surprised. It would be a heavy and inconvenient question from Hi Air’s point of view, but they said they would actively try to explain it. But the gratitude didn’t last long.

The 23rd has come. But around 10:30 am, I got a call from the vice president. He announced the cancellation, saying, “I can’t interview because of CEO Yoon’s personal schedule.” It was four hours before the scheduled interview. I was really disappointed, but I also sent an interview request to reschedule. It included specific questions such as hiring irregularities, poor maintenance such as training and fuel leaks, and the reason for giving money directly to Kim, the head of the Busan Aviation Administration. The next morning, the vice president sent a friendly (?) Kakao Talk.

OO Kim / Current Vice President of Hi Air

“I was surprised when I checked the questionnaire in the morning. (Omitted) It was a request from an MBC reporter, so I wanted to actively cooperate with the coverage, but I was very disappointed when I saw the contents.

Not only the supervisory authority, but also the investigative agency had completed the investigation. I had to listen to CEO Yoon’s explanation. I managed to get a reply from the vice president saying, “I’ll interview myself instead of CEO Yoon.” I promised again to have an interview on the morning of the 26th and hung up the phone. I left a phone call and a text message on the night of the 25th to decide a time and place to meet. There were no calls or texts until after 12:00 on the night of the appointment.

In the end, I went to the office where CEO Yoon went to work. Only then did Vice President Kim show up and ask, “What do you do if you come to me recklessly?” They also said, “I was busy, so I couldn’t contact you.” “I will interview CEO Yoon instead.” We waited for CEO Yoon. And after about two hours, CEO Yoon came out and we were able to meet. After that, Hi Air did not give any explanation.

It was bittersweet that I could not get a cool answer from CEO Yoon, but on the other hand, it was sad. Regardless of the size of the company, do you often see in the news how many employees block the reporters asking uncomfortable questions to the CEO? There was only one employee who stood by the side of CEO Yoon, who was facing the reporters. The vice president, who said, “I will interview you instead of CEO Yoon,” did not appear.

Come to think of it, there is no reason at all. Hi Air’s employees’ salaries have been pushed back considerably due to financial difficulties. In particular, it was confirmed that employees with positions of manager or higher were still not paid their wages. Retirees with the longest arrears of wages may be able to receive overdue wages. A legal action is also underway in this regard.

■ For small air transport operators to survive, transparent management is ‘essential’

The pilot recruitment and training process that the industry cannot understand at all, and even the suspicion of ‘back money’ for fuel leaks… Until these issues were raised, the voices of support for Hi Air were loud. As the only small air transportation service provider, it is possible to use aircraft at a relatively low price and has raised expectations as an alternative to address the transportation gap between regions. Furthermore, there have been quite a few papers stating that regulations on licensing inspection items for small air transport operators should be loosened. In the National Assembly, a bill was also proposed to increase the number of passengers on board, the standard for classification as a small air transport operator, from 50 to 75, but it was scrapped. No one will object to the diversification of small air transport operators and the expansion of the market. But shouldn’t the company’s transparent management and the government’s thorough management and supervision come first? Nothing is more important than the lives of passengers.