Korean police raided Muan Airport in the southwest of the country on Thursday after the tragic crash of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, which claimed the lives of 179 people.
« In relation to the plane accident which occurred on December 29, a search and seizure operation has been carried out since 9:00 a.m. (00:00 GMT) on January 2 in three locations“, including Muan Airport, the Jeju Air office in Seoul and an office of the regional aviation authority in Muan, the police said in a statement.
« The police intend to quickly and rigorously determine the cause and responsibility for this accident in accordance with the law.“added the same source.
The accident of flight JJA-2216, the worst crash in history on Korean soil, occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time (00:03 GMT) on Sunday. The aircraft (Boeing 737-8AS) was carrying 181 people, including six crew members, between the Thai capital Bangkok and Muan.
Also read: Jeju Air plane crash: Korea investigates compliance of Muan airport concrete wall
The plane landed on its belly before hitting the wall hard, bending under the impact before bursting into flames. Only two people, a flight attendant and a steward, survived.
Officials believe that a collision with birds is a possible explanation for the tragedy. But the investigation is also looking into the presence of a concrete wall located at the end of the runway, against which the airliner rushed before catching fire.
At the crash site, Korean and American investigators continue their work, after recovering the plane’s two black boxes.
The damaged flight data recorder will be analyzed in the United States, Joo Jong-wan, vice minister in charge of Aviation, announced on Wednesday.
The second black box, containing the cockpit conversations, has already enabled a first extraction of data.
In addition, the authorities ordered the inspection of all Boeing 737-800s operated by Korean companies, i.e. 101 aircraft distributed between six carriers.
According to the general director in charge of aviation safety policy, Yoo Kyeong-soo, these checks mainly focus on the landing gears, suspected of having played a role in the accident.
With MAP
