SEOUL – South Korean officials are struggling to determine what caused a deadly plane crash that killed 179 people, with the nation saddened, shocked and ashamed over the country’s worst aviation disaster in decades.
Many observers also worry how effectively the South Korean government will handle the aftermath of Sunday’s crash as it grapples with a leadership vacuum following the recent successive impeachments of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s top two officials, amid political tumult caused by Yoon’s brief martial law introduction earlier this month.
New Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday presided over a task force meeting on the crash and instructed the Transport Ministry and police to launch investigations into its cause. He also ordered the ministry to implement an emergency review of the country’s overall aircraft operation systems.
The Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korea’s budget airline Jeju Air skidded off a runway at Muan International Airport in the country’s south, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into a fireball. The incident killed all but two of the 181 people aboard. The two survivors are both crew members, and they were pulled from the plane’s tail section — the only part that was still recognisable after the crash.
Joo Jong-wan, the Transport Ministry’s director of aviation policy, said authorities have so far identified 141 of the bodies, and are conducting DNA tests on the other 38.
Observers say the videos showed the plane suffering suspected engine trouble but the landing gear malfunction was likely a direct reason for the crash. Investigators retrieved the jet’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, but it may take months to complete the probe into the crash, Joo said.
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