South Korea orders aviation safety probe after airline crash that killed 179

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- South Korea's acting president on Monday ordered an emergency inspection of the country's aviation system one day after a flight operated by Jeju Air crashed at Muan International Airport, killing 179 passengers.

The Boeing 737-800 hit the tarmac at high speed and then skidded on its belly along the runway before slamming into an embankment and exploding into flames.

The disaster was the worst aviation accident ever on Korean soil and the deadliest incident for a South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed 228.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok told a disaster response meeting in Seoul that the government's top priority is to investigate the crash and support bereaved family members.

"Even before the final results are released, we ask that the investigation process of the accident be made transparent and promptly inform the bereaved families," Choi said.

"As soon as the accident recovery is concluded, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is requested to conduct an emergency safety inspection of the overall aircraft operation system in order to prevent the recurrence of aircraft accidents," he added.

After the meeting, Choi visited a memorial altar for the crash victims set up in a gymnasium near Muan International Airport, located some 180 miles southwest of Seoul.

On Sunday, the president's office declared a national week of mourning, with memorial altars to be set up in 17 cities around the country and flags flown at half-staff on government buildings.

South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday it would conduct a safety inspection of all 101 of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by domestic airlines following the Jeju Air crash.

Jeju Air, the country's largest low-cost carrier, operates the largest fleet of the widely used Boeing planes, with 39. Other carriers using the aircraft include T'way Air with 27, Jin Air with 19 and Eastar with 10.

The Jeju Air aircraft is believed to have experienced a landing gear malfunction, possibly caused by a bird strike, as it approached Muan International Airport on its flight from Bangkok.

On Monday, a Jeju Air flight departed from Seoul's Gimpo airport for the resort island of Jeju but returned less than an hour later after the crew detected a mechanical issue with the craft's landing gear, according to news agency Yonhap.

In a press briefing, the transport ministry's aviation policy chief, Joo Jang-wan, said that the inspections would focus on landing gear issues, and added that Jeju Air was known for high usage of its aircraft and quick turnaround times between flights.

"We will conduct comprehensive safety inspections on the model's maintenance reports and scrutinize whether each carrier complies with aviation maintenance regulations," Joo said.

"It is backed by data that Jeju Air has a higher utilization rate of aircraft than others," he added.

The plane's two black boxes have been recovered, but one of them -- the flight data recorder -- suffered damage and may take more than a month to decode, Joo said.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will join the crash investigation, along with Boeing and other federal agencies, it said Sunday.

"The NTSB is leading a team of U.S. investigators including Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration to assist the Republic of Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board with their investigation of the Dec. 29 Jeju Air accident at Muan International Airport in Muan," the NTSB said in a post on X.

Bereaved family members, meanwhile, continue to wait for the identification of the crash victims to be completed. As of Monday afternoon 141 of the 179 people killed have been identified, the transport ministry said. First responders rescued two cabin crew members, one male and one female, who were transferred to separate hospitals in Seoul for further treatment.

The tragedy comes as South Korea is embroiled in its deepest political crisis in years.

The country has been beset by political turmoil since President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a short-lived martial law earlier this month and was impeached on Dec. 14.

Choi stepped into the interim leadership role on Friday after acting President Han Duck-soo was also impeached.