The investigation into Sunday’s lethal aircraft crash in South Korea, which resulted within the deaths of 179 folks, has intensified as authorities work to find out the reason for the accident and deal with rising public issues.
The crash occurred when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, a Boeing 737-800 arriving from Bangkok, misplaced management throughout its strategy to Muan Worldwide Airport. Of the 181 folks on board, solely two survived.
The households of the victims, together with 175 passengers and 4 crew members, gathered at Muan Worldwide Airport, the place the crash occurred, to demand extra info from authorities.
Most of the kinfolk expressed frustration with the shortage of particulars offered by officers and known as for larger transparency within the investigation. On the airport, a memorial altar was arrange, with nuns laying flowers in tribute to the victims.
The crash has raised issues concerning the airport’s structure, notably a big dirt-and-concrete embankment close to the runway, which some aviation specialists imagine contributed to the severity of the crash.
The embankment, which helps navigation tools, is situated about 250 meters from the tip of the runway, far nearer than is often really useful.
Some specialists recommend this construction might have exacerbated the impression, inflicting passengers to be thrown into close by fields. Whereas South Korean officers keep that the embankment was constructed in keeping with business requirements, there are growing requires a overview of the rules surrounding its proximity to the runway.
The federal government introduced that it might overview whether or not the embankment meets security requirements. Kim Hong-rak, the director-general for airport coverage, acknowledged, “We’ll overview the related rules and their utility.”
The precise explanation for the crash stays unclear, with early theories specializing in a possible fowl strike.
Nonetheless, some specialists are skeptical {that a} fowl strike alone may have been highly effective sufficient to forestall the pilot from deploying the plane’s touchdown gear, which didn’t operate throughout the crash.
Investigators are additionally wanting into the chance that different management methods of the plane have been disabled. John Nance, an aviation security professional, remarked, “I can’t consider any cause for being pressured to make a touchdown like this.”
Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae confirmed that upkeep workers had not flagged any points with the plane previous to takeoff and reiterated that each one security protocols have been adopted.
Kim additionally acknowledged that the airline would scale back its winter companies by 10-15% in an effort to regain the belief of the general public.
The Nationwide Police Company has enlisted extra officers and employed fast DNA analyzers to expedite the identification of the victims.
As of now, a lot of the victims have been recognized, however 5 our bodies stay unclaimed, with short-term morgues arrange on the airport. Authorities reported that the our bodies of 4 recognized victims had been handed over to their households.
The investigation has additionally been hampered by harm to the aircraft’s flight knowledge recorder, which is lacking key items of knowledge, making it tougher to extract helpful info. The second black field, the cockpit voice recorder, is in higher situation.
Within the aftermath of the crash, South Korea’s newly appointed appearing President Choi Sang-mok has ordered a nationwide inspection of the airline business.
The transport ministry has pledged to examine all 101 Boeing 737-800s working within the nation by the tip of the week. President Choi, who changed the impeached former president Han Duck-soo over the weekend, has made the identification of the remaining victims a precedence and promised to help the victims’ households.
He additionally emphasised the necessity for transparency within the investigation course of. “Even earlier than the ultimate outcomes are out, we ask that officers transparently disclose the accident investigation course of and promptly inform the bereaved households,” Choi stated at a catastrophe administration assembly.
A seven-day interval of nationwide mourning has been declared, and memorials have been arrange on the crash website and different areas across the nation. Flags have been lowered to half-mast in honor of the victims.
Representatives from the US Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and plane producer Boeing have joined the investigation group.
They’re anticipated to fulfill in Muan, situated 186 miles southwest of Seoul, to help with the inquiry.
South Korean authorities are beneath stress to keep away from a repeat of the aftermath of the Sewol ferry catastrophe in 2014, the place delays in figuring out victims and establishing the reason for the accident led to widespread public criticism.
Many kinfolk of the victims within the present crash are demanding a quicker and extra clear investigation course of.
The investigation into the crash of Jeju Air flight 7C2216 continues as officers work to find out the reason for the tragedy and stop related incidents sooner or later.