South Korean police yesterday raided the offices of Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport, as part of the probe into the fatal crash of a Boeing 737-800 plane that killed 179 people.
The flight was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea on Sunday when it issued a mayday call and belly-landed before slamming into a barrier, killing everyone aboard except two flight attendants pulled from the burning wreckage.
Authorities carried out search and seizure operations at the Muan airport where flight 2216 crashed, a regional aviation office in the southwestern city and Jeju Air’s office in the Seoul.
Photo: YONHAP / AFP
South Korean and US investigators, including from Boeing, have been combing the crash site since the disaster to establish a cause, with both black boxes found and decoding work ongoing.
“In relation to the plane accident ... a search and seizure operation is being conducted from 9am on Jan. 2 at three locations,” police said. “The police plan to swiftly and rigorously determine the cause and responsibility for this accident in accordance with the law and principles.”
Police said the search warrant was issued and Yonhap reported it was approved on charges of professional negligence resulting in death, citing officials.
“As there’s great public concern about the same aircraft model involved in the accident, the transport ministry and relevant agencies must conduct a thorough inspection of operation maintenance, education, and training,” South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok said yesterday. “If any issues are found during the inspection, please take immediate corrective action.”
South Korean authorities have completed the initial extraction of data for the cockpit voice recorder, but the flight data recorder was damaged and was to be sent to the US for analysis, officials said on Wednesday.
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