Questions over airport embankment, bird strikes as South Korea plane crash probed

SEOUL: Questions mounted on Tuesday about the crash of a Jeju Air plane as police scrambled to identify victims and as families of those killed in the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil pressed authorities for more information.

The National Police Service said it was making every effort by adding staff and rapid DNA analyzers to speed up the identification of the five bodies that remained unidentified as of Tuesday.

Family members who gathered at the country’s Muan International Airport, where the crash happened, pressed for faster identification and more information from authorities.

All 175 passengers and four of six crew members were killed when a Jeju Air 089590.KS Boeing BA.N 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, exploding in a fireball as it hit a wall. Two crew members were pulled alive from the wreckage.

Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety review of the country’s entire airline as investigators tried to learn what caused the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.

The Department of Transportation said a “black box” flight recorder recovered from the crash site was missing key pieces and authorities were looking into how to extract its data.

Inspections of all 101 B737-800s operated by South Korean airlines were scheduled to be completed by Jan. 3, with the airport now closed until Jan. 7, the transport ministry added.

Representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration and aircraft manufacturer Boeing have joined the investigative body and plan to meet in Moan on Tuesday.

The NTSB said in a statement that it has sent three investigators, including people with specialties in operational factors and airworthiness, to South Korea to assist in the investigation.

“If we need more experts, we will send them in,” board chairwoman Jennifer Homedi said in an interview.

Investigators are looking at bird strikes, whether any of the plane’s control systems were disabled and the pilots’ apparent rush to attempt a landing immediately after an emergency was declared as possible factors in the crash, fire and transportation officials said.

Officials also faced sharp questions about the airport’s design features, particularly a large mound of dirt and concrete near the end of the runway used to support navigation equipment.