The pilot of an Asiana Airlines aircraft that made a botched landing at Hiroshima Airport last month, slightly injuring passengers, may have attempted to climb back up to land again, transport safety board sources said Tuesday.
The Airbus A320 is instead skidded off the runway after hitting a navigational aid on the ground and losing engine thrust.
The Japan Transport Safety Board is analyzing the aircraft's flight data in coordination with several authorities, including an accident investigative body in South Korea, where the carrier is based.
Pilots of airplanes attempting to land need to execute a procedure known as a "go around" if they decide visibility is too poor to land safely. When landing on the runway of Hiroshima Airport from the east, there needs to be visibility of at least 1,600 meters.
But the visibility around the eastern end of the runway, from which the aircraft was attempting to land, was reduced to 300 to 400 meters around the time of the accident due to fog, according to observatory data.
Meanwhile, the transport ministry said Tuesday that it has tentatively restored the equipment damaged in the accident, a radio facility known as a localizer that helps landing aircraft align with the center of the runway.
The restoration of the landing system known as ILS is expected to bring 98 percent of the scheduled flights at the airport back to normal.
The localizer is located just east of the runway. It is expected to be fully restored by the end of this year, according to the ministry.
At Hiroshima Airport on April 14, Asiana Flight 162 from Seoul flew in too low from the east, damaged the localizer and veered off the runway before coming to a halt on a grass field. The accident caused the airport to be closed for days.