By Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s transport ministry has grounded all Boeing (NYSE: ) 737-800 jets operated by the country’s airlines, following the country’s worst aviation disaster on earth. Special inspections of 101 have been extended by a week, a ministry official said. on Friday.
The ministry launched an investigation on Sunday following the crash of a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air that killed 179 people. The inspection was due to be completed on Friday but was extended to January 10, the official told Reuters, without giving a reason.
A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok to Muen County in southwestern South Korea belly-landed and overran the regional airport’s runway, bursting into flames after hitting an embankment.
The ministry has said it will look at the engines, maintenance records and landing gear of all 737-800s, and airline operations could be suspended for serious violations.
The transport ministry also held an emergency meeting with the chief executives of 11 airlines, including top-tier Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, to discuss measures to enhance aviation security, the ministry official said.
South Korea’s investigation team said on Friday that two of its members will leave for the US next week to analyze the flight data recorder of the crash in cooperation with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The team is also studying the wreckage and interviewing airport control tower officials.
Investigators will analyze data from 107 mobile phones recovered from the crash site, including text messages, for clues about what happened after the crash, Yonhap News said.
South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Friday urged investigators to work quickly to collect evidence from the crash scene and analyze voice recorders.
Unanswered questions include why the plane did not deploy its landing gear and why the pilot apparently made the landing after telling air traffic control that the plane had suffered a bird strike and declared an emergency. Rushed in the second attempt.
Police said Thursday they were looking for Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport and had banned Jeju Air Chief Executive Kim Ee-bae and another unidentified official from leaving the country.
