The director general in charge of South Korean air safety policy announced that the inspection of Boeing 737-800s operated by companies in the country will “mainly” concern the landing gear after the crash of an aircraft of the same model which left 179 dead on December 29.
South Korea announced this Wednesday, January 1, that the comprehensive inspection of all Boeing 737-800 planes operated by the country's airlines focused “mainly” on the landing gears, after the accident of one aircraft of the same model which caused 179 deaths in Muan on December 29.
The ongoing examinations “mainly focus on the landing gear, which did not deploy correctly in this case,” said Director General in charge of aviation safety policy Yoo Kyeong-soo.
Two survivors
South Korea announced on December 30 a “full inspection” of all Boeing 737-800s used by companies in the country. This Wednesday, the country also announced that it would send to the United States one of the black boxes from the Boeing 737-800 that crashed.
Being impossible to extract on South Korean soil the information contained in “the damaged flight data recorder, it was decided today to transport it to the United States for analysis in collaboration” with American investigators, explained Joo Jong-wan, vice minister in charge of aviation, during a briefing.
On Sunday morning, this Boeing from the South Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air, coming from Bangkok, landed on its belly in Muan (southwest), hitting a concrete wall at the end of the runway. Under the weight of the impact, the plane bent in two and caught fire. In total, 179 of the 181 passengers died, with only a hostess and a steward surviving this disaster, the worst air accident that South Korea has experienced on its territory.
