South Korea plane crash investigations intensify as questions raised over airport embankment
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Families of the dead remain at Muan international airport to demand more information, as criticism of airport layout mounts. The investigation into Sunday’s plane crash in South Korea, in which all but two of the 181 people aboard died, intensified on Tuesday as authorities came under pressure to explain how the jetliner lost control and to identify victims.
![[Bereaved family members look on at the scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d10318bcb02a745639b60452e34148f000e83b93/0_144_5136_3084/master/5136.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Families of the dead – 175 passengers and four crew – remained at Muan international airport, the scene of the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil, to demand more information from authorities. The National Police Agency said it had enlisted additional officials and would use rapid DNA analysers to speed up the identification of five bodies. All of the other victims have been identified but most remain at a temporary morgue at the airport.
The exact cause of the crash is still unknown. Early theories centred on a bird strike, although some experts do not believe a collision of that kind – a relatively common occurrence in aviation – would have been forceful enough to prevent the pilot from lowering the Boeing 737-800’s landing gear as it approached the runway.
Bird strikes aside, investigators are trying to establish if any of the aircraft’s control systems were disabled, as well as why the pilot apparently attempted to land so soon after declaring an emergency. The plane, powered by two CFM 56-7B26 engines, appeared to be travelling at great speed when the pilot attempted a “belly landing.”.
