Boeing shares fell 4.5% on Monday morning after South Korean authorities ordered an inspection of the aircraft model involved in last weekend's Jeju Air crash.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok directed the Ministry of Transportation to begin an emergency inspection of all domestic airline operations. Officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MOLIT) said they would inspect all B737-800 planes involved in the crash.
A passenger plane skidded off the runway while landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning, hit a wall and burst into flames, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Two survivors were seriously injured when the plane's crew was pulled from the burning wreckage, officials said.
The exact cause behind the crash is unknown. Yoo Kyung-soo, MOLIT's director of aviation safety, said the jet had no proper landing gear after the pilot issued a “bird strike” warning to the control tower, flagged an aborted landing attempt and declared a “mayday.” The plane crash-landed without any luggage, said Yoo Kyung-soo, director of aviation safety at MOLIT. of NBC News Translation.
“Jeju Air bows deeply and apologizes to all those affected by the Muan Airport accident,” the airline wrote in an Instagram post. “Our first priority is to do everything possible to manage this incident. We apologize for any concern this may cause.”
The US National Transportation Safety Board, along with aircraft engine manufacturer CFM International, is assisting a South Korean aviation investigation team in investigating the cause of the crash. Two black boxes recovered from the plane's wreckage were sent for analysis.
Song Kyung-hoon, head of management support for Jeju Air, said on Sunday that Jeju Air will provide support to the families of those killed in the crash. The plane was insured for $1 billion, Song added, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The airline denied that the crash was caused by mechanical failure or lack of safety measures.
On Monday, another Jeju Air flight had to turn back due to landing gear failure, it reported. bloomberg.
Popular with South Korean budget carriers, Boeing's B737-800 aircraft have been in service for nearly 30 years.
“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing told the Post in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.”
The Jeju Air crash is the latest in a long-running Boeing safety scandal that began with two 737 Max crashes just five months apart that killed 346 people in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019. This is the latest stage.
Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty to a single felony charge of defrauding regulators that approved the 737 MAX. As part of the plea agreement, the company will pay a $243.6 million fine, invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and serve three years' probation.
Then, in January, a Boeing 737 MAX 9's door plug flew off in the air, prompting the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation.
Boeing has a bad reputation and is losing revenue. The company's October quarter loss soared to $6 billion due to a strike by West Coast factory workers.
