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South Korea plans to inspect all B737-800 Boeing aircraft operated by domestic airlines after a passenger jet crashed upon landing on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.
Acting president Choi Sang-mok has ordered emergency safety checks on the country’s airline operation system as investigators examine why the twin-engined Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air failed to deploy its landing gear, skidding down the runway before it struck a wall and burst into flames at Muan international airport in the south of the country.
On Monday morning, another B737-800 aircraft operated by the same airline returned to Gimpo domestic airport because of a warning message about its landing gear, Jeju Air told a briefing. The landing gear was later found to be working well, the airline said. Shares of Jeju Air slid to their lowest level on Monday, falling as much as 16 per cent.
“We are looking to first conduct a special safety inspection of B737-800 Boeing aircraft in operation,” an official at the transport ministry told a televised briefing on Monday, noting that more than 100 B737-800 aircraft were in operation in South Korea, mostly by budget airlines.
“We will check their operating ratios and if airlines are abiding by safety rules including regular maintenance before and after flights.”
The 737-800 is a “next-generation” model of Boeing’s 737 line of single-aisle aircraft, which has been a workhorse of short-haul air travel since being introduced in the 1990s. It is gradually being replaced by the more modern and fuel-efficient 737 Max.
Although the cause of the crash is still being investigated, the incident is another setback for the US aviation group, which has had a difficult year due to its manufacturing problems and safety protocols, after a door plug blew off a 737 Max in flight in January, following crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The ministry said the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders had been recovered with some damage on the outside and it was checking if they remained intact for full analysis.
But it added that the pilot told air traffic control that the aircraft had suffered a bird strike and called mayday shortly before the crash landing.
South Korea is leading the investigation into the cause of the accident but the National Transportation Safety Board in the US will send an investigation team to the country to provide assistance, with Boeing and the Federation Aviation Administration also taking part in the probe.
The victims were mostly South Koreans returning from holiday in Thailand.
