South Korea to inspect Boeing B737-800 aircraft after crash

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South Korea plans to inspect all B737-800 Boeing aircraft operated by domestic airlines after a passenger jet crashed on landing on Sunday, killing all but two of 181 on board in the country’s worst aviation disaster.

Investigators are probing why the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air failed to deploy its landing gear, skidding off the runway before hitting a wall, as Acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety check on the country’s airline operations system. . burst into flames At Muan International Airport in the south of the country.

On Monday morning, another B737-800 operated by the same airline returned to Gimpo Domestic Airport because it had a warning message about its landing gear, Jeju Air said in a briefing. The landing gear was later found to be working properly, the airline said. share of jeju water Monday slid to their lowest level, falling as much as 16 percent.

“We are first looking to conduct a special safety inspection of B737-800 Boeing aircraft,” a transport ministry official said in a televised briefing on Monday, noting that there are more than 100 B737-800 aircraft in operation. South KoreaMostly by budget airlines.

“We will check their operating ratios and whether the airlines are complying with safety norms 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 its introduction 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 under investigation, the incident is another setback for the US aviation group, which has had a difficult year due to production problems and safety protocols, after a 737 Max door plug blew out in flight in January, following crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The ministry said the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered with some external damage and are being checked for intactness for full analysis.

But it added that the pilot told air traffic control that the plane had suffered a bird strike and called for meds shortly before the crash landing.

South Korea is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash, but the US National Transportation Safety Board will send an investigation team to provide assistance, with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration also participating in the investigation.

Most of the dead were South Korean nationals returning to Thailand for a holiday.