Another Jeju Air plane experienced landing gear problems on Monday and was forced to return. Meanwhile, South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mook has ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire air transportation system as investigators work to identify the victims and determine the causes of the country's deadliest air crash. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
A Jeju Air passenger jet that took off from Gimpo Airport in Seoul for Jeju on Monday encountered an unknown landing gear problem after takeoff and returned to Gimpo, where it landed safely.
South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mook, told a disaster relief meeting in Seoul that the priority now is to identify the victims, support their families and treat the two survivors.
“Even before the final results are in, we ask officials to openly talk about the progress of the investigation and promptly inform the families of the victims,” he said.
“As soon as the accident is cleaned up, the Ministry of Transport should conduct an emergency safety inspection of the entire airplane operation system to prevent a recurrence of airplane crashes,” he said.
The Ministry of Transportation reported that the authorities are considering a special inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by South Korean airlines.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, arriving from Thailand's capital Bangkok, was trying to land on Sunday morning at an airport in the south of the country. Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible causes of the crash, fire officials said.
Experts say many questions remain, including why the plane, powered by two CFM 56-7B26 engines, was traveling so fast and why its landing gear was not lowered when it left the runway and crashed.
On Monday, representatives of the Ministry of Transport reported that during a scheduled landing, the pilots told controllers that the plane had been hit by a bird, shortly after the control tower warned them that birds had been spotted in the area.
Officials are investigating the role of a locator antenna located at the end of the runway to assist in landing, including the mound on which it was standing, Transportation Ministry officials said at a media briefing.
Recall
The crash of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-8AS at South Korea's Muan Airport killed 179 passengers. A total of 181 people were on board.
Video of the crash, broadcast by South Korean TV channels, showed the plane sliding down the runway at high speed, apparently with its landing gear folded, going off the runway and colliding head-on with a concrete wall, causing an explosion. Other local TV channels showed footage of thick puffs of black smoke billowing from the burning plane.