What we know about the deadly Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea
Share:
South Korea has vowed thorough investigations to find what caused a plane crash that killed 179 people, saying Monday that it will also inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. Sunday's crash, the nation's deadliest aviation disaster in decades, has sent a shock wave through South Korean society, which is already facing a political crisis that led to the successive impeachments of the country's top two officials — President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duk-soo.
Here are things to know about developments on the crash. __. What happened and what might have caused it?. Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 had departed from Bangkok and was making its landing at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea. After an initial failed landing attempt, the Boeing 737-800 plane received a bird strike warning from the ground control center. The pilot then issued a distress signal before the plane came down with its front landing gear closed, overshot the runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into a fireball.
Observers say videos of the crash showed the plane was suffering from suspected engine trouble, but the landing gear malfunction was likely the main reason for the crash. South Korean Transport Ministry officials said Monday they will examine whether the fence the plane hit — which housed a set of antennas designed to guide aircraft safely during landings — should have been made with lighter materials that would break more easily upon impact. They said they were also trying to establish whether there were any communication problems between air traffic controllers and the pilot.
