South Korean police have raided Muan International Airport, where a plane crash occurred on Sunday that killed 179 people, as well as the office of the airline operating the flight, media reports said. Was killed.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea when it issued a Mayday warning and landed belly-on on the fleeing passengers, before hitting an obstacle and bursting into flames. Two flight attendants survived the crash, making it the nation’s worst aviation disaster on soil.
Following the accident, police now appear to be involved, with media reports suggesting they also raided a third location, the office of a regional aviation office, on suspicion of death resulting from professional negligence.
“In connection with the plane crash that occurred on December 29, search and seizure operations are being conducted at three locations from 9 a.m. on January 2,” including Muan Airport, the Jeju Air office in Seoul, as well as a regional aviation office, police said. Is included. Said in a statement.
“The police plan to rapidly and strictly determine the cause and responsibility for this accident in accordance with the law and principles.”
A police official told Reuters that investigators planned to seize documents and materials related to the operation and maintenance of the aircraft, as well as the operation of airport facilities.
The raid comes as pressure builds on authorities to establish the cause of the crash, which occurred after the landing gear of the Boeing 737-800 apparently failed while landing at Mu’an in the country’s southwest on Sunday morning Was.
Inspectors have recovered both “black boxes” from the charred remains of the plane and are working on decoding data from the cockpit voice recorder.
However, the plane’s flight data recorder is to be transferred to the US for analysis as local authorities have said they have been unable to extract data from the device, which was damaged in the crash.
The government ordered an emergency safety inspection of South Korea’s entire aviation operations, while a separate investigation is being conducted focusing on the landing gear on all 101 Boeing 737-800s used by the country’s six airlines.
The interim president, Choi Sang-mok, said that “immediate action” should be taken if inspections revealed any irregularities with the plane.
“Since there is great public concern about the same aircraft model involved in the accident, the Ministry of Transportation and related agencies should conduct a thorough inspection of operation maintenance, education and training,” Choi said Thursday.
“If any problems are found during inspection, please take immediate corrective action.”
The investigation has not yet determined why the landing gear failed, with possible causes including bird strike and mechanical failure.
It is also focusing on a concrete barrier, whose location near the end of the runway has been criticized by aviation experts. It is believed that the passengers died when the plane hit the barrier at high speed, burst into flames and broke apart.
Relatives of the victims, including five children under the age of 10 and nine members of the same family, were allowed to visit the site on Wednesday for the first time since the accident.
they kept tteokguk – Rice-cake soup traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day – and crying goodbye to loved ones.
Hundreds of people waited patiently to pay tribute at a memorial altar set up nearby in honor of the victims, forming a queue that stretched for several hundred metres. Other altars have been set up across the country.