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South Korea plans to inspect all Boeing B737-800 planes operated by domestic airlines after a passenger jet crashed on landing on Sunday, killing all but two of 181 people aboard in one of the country's worst aviation disasters.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok has ordered emergency safety checks on the country's airline operating system, as investigators examine why a twin-engine Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air failed to deploy its landing gear, causing it to skid down the runway before… To hit a wall and cause it to fall. It caught fire 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 due to a warning message about its landing gear, Jeju Airlines said in a press conference. The airline said the landing gear was later found to be working well. shares Jeju water It fell to its lowest point on Monday, falling as much as 16 percent.
“We are first looking to conduct a special safety inspection of the operating Boeing B737-800 aircraft,” a Transport Ministry official said in a televised press conference on Monday, noting that more than 100 Boeing 737-800 aircraft are operating in the country. South Koreamostly by budget airlines.
“We will check their operating ratios and whether the airlines adhere to 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 jets, which have been the workhorse of short-haul air travel since their introduction in the 1990s. It is gradually being replaced by the more modern and fuel-efficient 737 MAX.
Although the cause of the accident is still under investigation, the incident represents another setback for the American aviation group, which has had a difficult year due to manufacturing problems and safety protocols, after the door plug of a 737 MAX plane exploded during flight in January after the 2018 accidents. And 2019.
The ministry said that the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered with some damage from the outside, and the ministry is checking whether they are intact for full analysis.
But she added that the pilot informed air traffic control that the plane had been hit by birds and called for help shortly before landing.
South Korea is leading the investigation into the cause of the accident, but the US National Transportation Safety Board will send an investigation team to the country to provide assistance, with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration also participating in the investigation.
Most of the victims were South Koreans returning from vacation in Thailand.
