By Hyunjoo Jin and Jihoon Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean police said on Thursday they had raided Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport as part of their investigation into Sunday’s crash that killed 179 people in the worst aviation disaster on the ground. of the country.
Jeju Air plane 7C2216, which left Bangkok, the Thai capital, for Muan, in southwestern South Korea, landed upside down and skidded off the runway at the regional airport, exploding in flames after hitting an embankment.
Two crew members, who were sitting in the tail of the Boeing (NYSE:) 737-800, were rescued alive by rescuers, but were injured.
Police investigators are searching the offices of the airport operator and the Ministry of Transportation’s aviation authority in the southwestern city of Muan, as well as the Jeju Air office in Seoul, South Jeolla provincial police said in a statement. press release.
Investigators plan to seize documents and materials related to the operation and maintenance of the aircraft, as well as the operation of airport facilities, a police official told Reuters.
A Jeju Air spokesperson said the airline is checking the situation. The airport operating company was not immediately available for comment.
Questions from aviation safety experts about what caused the deadly explosion have focused on the embankment designed to prop up navigation equipment that they said is too rigid and too close to the end of the runway.
“This rigid structure proved catastrophic when the skidding plane made impact,” said Najmedin Meshkati, an engineering professor at the University of Southern California, adding that it was concerning that the navigation antenna was mounted on “such a formidable concrete structure, instead of the standard one. Installation of metal tower/pylon”.
An investigation into the Jeju Air flight is also underway involving South Korean officials and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing.
It remains unanswered why the plane did not deploy its landing gear and what prompted the pilot to scramble to make a second landing attempt after informing air traffic control that the plane had suffered a bird strike and declaring an emergency.
The plane’s flight data recorder, which suffered some damage, will be taken to the United States for analysis in cooperation with the NTSB.
The conversion of the cockpit voice recorder data to the audio file should be completed by Friday, acting President Choi Sang-mok said, which could provide critical information about the final minutes of the doomed flight.
A Transportation Ministry official said Wednesday that it may be difficult to make the audio files public as they will be critical to the ongoing investigation.
Choi told a disaster management meeting that immediate action should be taken if a special inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated in the country finds any problems.
“As there is great public concern about the same model of aircraft involved in the accident, the Ministry of Transportation and relevant organizations should conduct a comprehensive inspection of operations, maintenance, education and training,” Choi said.
Choi’s comments at the start of the meeting were provided by his office.
Investigators from the NTSB, FAA and Boeing are in South Korea to assist in the investigation.
Choi called for every effort to be made to help the families of the victims as the remains of those killed are handed over to them. He also called on police to take action against anyone posting “malicious” messages and fake news on social media related to the disaster.