South Korea’s acting leader orders inspection of airline systems after country’s worst air disaster

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system once the recovery work on the Jeju Air crash is finished.

South Korea’s deadliest air accident ever killed 179 people on Sunday, when an airliner belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at Muan International Airport.

The top priority for now is identifying the victims, supporting their families and treating the two survivors for which no available resources should be spared, Choi told a disaster management meeting in Seoul.

“Even before the final results are out, we ask that officials transparently disclose the accident investigation process and promptly inform the bereaved families,” he said.

“As soon as the accident recovery is conducted, the Transport Ministry is requested to conduct an emergency safety inspection of the entire aircraft operation system to prevent recurrence of aircraft accidents,” he said.

Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was trying to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Sunday at the airport in the south of the country.

Two crew members survived and were being treated for injuries.

Investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors in the crash, fire officials have said. Experts say many questions remain, including why the plane was going so fast and why its landing gear was not down when it skidded down the runway and into a wall.