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U.S. transport authorities, Boeing to join probe into Korea's deadly airplane crash

Published: 30 Dec. 2024, 09:16 Updated: 30 Dec. 2024, 14:34

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Firefighters and rescue personnel conduct a search operation at the site on Dec. 30 where a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla. [NEWS1]

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), along with Boeing, will join the investigation of a fiery Jeju Air airplane crash in Muan, South Jeolla, on Sunday morning that claimed 179 lives.

"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.

The crashed jet was a Boeing 737-800 made in November 2009, with a length of 39.47 meters (129.5 feet) and 189 passenger seats. Korea's low-cost carrier Jeju Air has operated it since February 2017.

At 9:07 a.m. on Sunday, Jeju Air’s Flight 7C 2216 returning from Thailand’s Bangkok carrying 181 people — 175 passengers and six flight attendants — crashed after veering off the runway and colliding with a wall at Muan International Airport.

All but two out of 181 passengers and crew aboard are dead including two Thai nationals.

A bird strike is suspected to have caused the plane's landing gear to malfunction, prompting the aircraft to land without properly lowered gear, though the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is currently investigating the case to determine the exact cause of the accident.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]