South Korean airport searched after fatal accident

179 out of 181 passengers were killed when a Jeju Air aircraft crashed and burst in flames at Muan airport. Investigators have now searched Muan Airport, including the offices for the low-cost airlines.

After the plane crash in South Korea that resulted in a fatality, the police searched Muan Airport. Yonhap reported that the offices of low-cost airline Jeju Air had also been affected, citing sources. The search warrant was issued based on allegations that negligence caused death.

The Jeju Air Boeing 737-8 landed on its fuselage on Sunday at the airport in South-Western South Korea without its landing equipment deployed, skidded along the runway and crashed against a wall. 179 out of 181 occupants died. Two crew members survived.

The tower in Muan had issued a warning about a collision between birds and the pilots shortly before the crash landing. It is still unclear how the bird strike was connected to the malfunctioning landing gear. The plane was on its way from Bangkok, Thailand. The plane was only Korean, with two Thais.

Investigators from USA also on the site

Along with Korean experts, representatives from a US authority as well as the US aircraft maker Boeing are investigating the accident site. Both flight records have been recovered, and data from the cockpit voice recorder was also transmitted. The second flight recorder, which was damaged in this accident, will be examined further by experts in the USA.

The wall at end of runway, against which plane crashed and burst in flames, has also been scrutinized. Some experts claim that the concrete structure that surrounds the antenna system used to support the pilots when landing was unnecessary and could have contributed to the disaster. South Korea launched an investigation into the same type of aircraft among its domestic airlines after the accident.