Police raid airline offices after crash kills 179 in South Korea

South Korean police raided the offices of Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport on Thursday as they intensify the investigation into the deadly crash of a Boeing 737-800 which killed 179 people.

The flight had 181 passengers and the crew from Thailand to South Korea on Sunday when it issued a distress call and landed upside down before crashing into a barrier, killing everyone on board except two flight attendants.

Authorities on Thursday carried out search and seizure operations at the Muan airport, where Flight 2216 crashed, at a regional aviation office in the southwestern city and at the Jeju Air office in the capital Seoul, it said. the police

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae has also been banned from leaving the country while the investigation continues, police said separately.

“The police plan to quickly and rigorously determine the cause and responsibility for this accident in accordance with the law and principles,” the police said in a statement sent to AFP.

At Muan airport on Thursday, white-clad soldiers, police and investigators continued combing the crash site, while orange-robed monks held prayer ceremonies nearby.

Inside the airport, the stairs were covered in colorful post-its left by mourners.

“Honey, I miss you so much,” one of them said.

“Even if in death you faced lonely and painful moments, may you now fly like a butterfly,” said another.

Relatives also left flowers and food near the crash site, including tteokguk (rice cake soup traditionally enjoyed in South Korea on New Year’s Day), as they said goodbye, many of them crying.

Star cooks featured on Netflix’s hit cooking competition show “Culinary Class Wars,” including Ahn Yu-seong, joined volunteers in Muan this week to prepare meals for victims’ families.

And people across the country were remotely prepaying for coffee at the airport cafe so that the victims’ families, who have been camped in the room since Sunday, waiting for news, could drink free of charge.

More bodies were handed over to families on Thursday to prepare for funerals, the Ministry of Lands said.

Authorities initially pointed to a bird strike as a possible cause of the crash, and have since said the investigation was also examining the role of a concrete barrier at the end of the runway.

Dramatic video showed the plane colliding with him before bursting into flames.

Yonhap reported that the Muan airport order was approved on charges of professional negligence resulting in death, citing officials.

“Police are obtaining evidence related to the legitimacy of the airport locator,” Yonhap said, referring to the concrete wall at the end of the runway that houses a set of antennas.

They are also seeking records of communication between the management tower and the pilot shortly before the plane crash, he added.

Airports across the country are being inspected to check other similar locators, the Ministry of Lands said in a statement.

Some experts have suggested that the disaster could have been less deadly if the facility had not been concrete.

“The key to unlocking this mystery”

South Korea also announced that it will inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by its carriers, focusing on the landing gear, which appears to have failed during Sunday’s crash.

South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, said Thursday that “immediate action” should be taken if that investigation uncovers any problems with the plane model.

Authorities had previously said that six different airlines operated 101 planes of the same model.

“As there is great public concern about the same model of aircraft involved in the accident, the Ministry of Transportation and relevant agencies should conduct a thorough inspection of operations, maintenance, education and training,” Choi said Thursday.

The accident is the worst air disaster to occur on South Korean soil.

South Korean authorities completed initial data extraction for the cockpit voice recorder, but the flight data recorder was damaged and needed to be sent to the United States for analysis, officials said Wednesday.

Investigators say it was not possible to locally decode the damaged flight data recorder, which is missing a key connector. BBC News reported.

“I think the cockpit voice recorder, if they are able to read it, will be key to unlocking this mystery,” Robert Sumwalt, former chairman of the NTSB, told CBS Information.

Jeju Air said the crash was not due to “any maintenance issue,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas. he told the BBC that South Korean airlines were considered to follow “industry best practices” and that both the plane and Jeju Air had an “excellent safety record.”