A Jeju Airlines Boeing 737-800 takes off from Osaka Kansai Airport.
Fabrizio Gandolfo | Rocket Lite | Getty Images
Accident investigators are trying to figure out why a Jeju Airlines plane landed without landing gear at Muan International Airport in southwestern South Korea, killing all but two of 181 people on board, and bursting into flames in the country's worst accident. An air disaster decades ago.
South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, ordered an emergency inspection of the country Boeing 737-800, the type of plane used in the deadly Jeju Airlines flight 7C2216.
The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world, with a strong safety record. It precedes the Boeing 737 MAX, the type involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed all 346 people on board those flights. The 737 MAX was grounded for about two years, and the flight control system, which was later modified, was involved in both crashes.
The scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashed and caught fire at Muan International Airport in Muan, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024.
Jung Eun Ji | AFP | Getty Images
There are approximately 4,400 of the older Boeing 737-800 aircraft in operation worldwide, according to aviation data company Cirium. This means that this model constitutes about 17% of the commercial passenger aircraft fleet operating in the world.
The average age of the global fleet of 737-800 aircraft is 13 years, according to Cirium, and the last series aircraft were delivered about five years ago.
Jeju Air took delivery of the plane involved in this weekend's crash in 2017. It was previously operated by European carrier Ryanair, according to Flightradar24. The plane that crashed was about 15 years old.
Aerospace experts say investigators are unlikely to find a problem with the design of the plane that flies for a long time.
“The idea that they would find a design flaw at this point is unthinkable,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, an aviation consulting firm.
A full investigation could take longer than a year, and the unusual incident has raised more questions than answers, such as why the landing gear was not deployed. Even in the event of a hydraulic failure, pilots on the Boeing 737-800 can drop the landing gear manually.
One theory involves a possible bird collision that disabled at least one if not both engines.
“If it had happened at the altitude they were at, they may not have had enough time to prepare emergency checklists,” said Jeff Guzzetti, a retired air safety investigator with the US National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. He also said that if the plane had not hit a block of dirt and the solid wall at the end of the runway, the accident would have been more survivable. This area includes a GPS device that helps guide aircraft.
The NTSB is leading the U.S. team of investigators, which also includes Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), since the aircraft was manufactured and certified in the United States.
Under international protocols, the country where the accident occurred will undertake a comprehensive investigation.
Boeing shares fell more than 4% early Monday after local officials called for inspections of 737-800 planes operated by South Korean airlines, but they pared earlier losses to end the day down 2.3%.
