South Korea plane crash: 60,000 Jeju Air bookings cancelled

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “We’re going to have to wait for voice recorder details before we can get a handle on what on earth went on.”

He also noted that after the mayday call, the plane was allowed to land in the opposite direction to usual but the wheels were up and the flaps were not set correctly.

A plane in Canada also experienced a “suspected landing gear issue” over the weekend.

No one was seriously injured but the Air Canada Express plane could not reach the terminal.

The flight operated by Pal Airlines from St John’s, Newfoundland experienced an incident upon landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Saturday evening.

Peter Fitzpatrick, an Air Canada spokesman, said the Bombardier Q400 plane experienced a “suspected landing gear issue”. The crew and 73 passengers were taken to the terminal by bus.

Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police said minor injuries were reported. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

The head of the investigation into the crash warned that DNA analysis is “not immediate”.

Police superintendent general Na Won-oh said: “The National Forensic Service is focusing its full efforts on this. But DNA analysis is not as immediate as taking a fingerprint and getting an instant result.

“Samples need to be collected, cultured, and then analysed to produce results. This means that each step requires physical time to complete.”

Authorities have identified 141 of the 179 bodies so far. Among the dead were five children under the age of 10, according to the authorities.

Nuns pay tribute at a group memorial altar for victims at the Muan Sports Complex in Muan, South Korea

CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES

New Year celebrations across South Korea have been cancelled as the country observes seven days of national mourning following the crash.

Plans for a 2025 countdown light show in the capital Seoul, which would have been broadcast live on the public broadcaster KBS, were shelved by the local government office.

Broadcaster MBC also cancelled a countdown event at Lotte World Tower, the tallest skyscraper in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the world.

Seoul authorities said they would take action against a cruise company which went ahead with fireworks on the Han River on Sunday night, despite being asked to cancel the event.

Jeju Air’s chief executive faced a hostile reception from the crash victims’ family members on Sunday night.

During his first meeting with relatives, Kim E-bae bowed his head as he apologised for the crash, AFP reported. “With a heart full of sorrow, I express my condolences and sympathies to those who lost their lives in this accident,” he said.

On a video of the meeting, family members could be heard demanding to know why it took eleven hours for him to visit them, when the train journey to the area from Seoul only lasts one hour and 40 minutes.

One person shouted: “What have you been doing? What are you trying to achieve by showing up only now?”

Boeing has been banned from upping production on its popular 737 Max jets after a door panel blowout in January this year.

The planemaker has been battling the fallout of repeated problems with reliability in recent months, which has prompted a management reshuffle and concerns over safety. Here is what you need to know.

• Read in full: Boeing 737 Max: which airlines use the planes and how dangerous are they?

The victims’ families are also calling for Jeju Air to provide more support, including immediate financial compensation, a representative said.

Park Han-shin, whose brother died in the crash, told the BBC: “The only way for bereaved families to feel that it has done everything it can is to help bereaved families financially.

“Parents of a family have passed away. There are only kids left and how can they live on their own? This is something neither the province officials nor the government can help with.”

Relatives gathered at Muan airport have expressed frustration at the slow progress of the recovery and identification of the victims.

Park Han-shin, who represents the victims’ relatives, called for search efforts in the crash zone to be stepped up. He told reporters: “We want the authorities to bring our loved ones back, even if they are only 80 per cent intact.”

Family members cried out in distress as an official tried to explain the difficulty of recovering remains, AFP reported.

“I apologise deeply … but the extent of the damage to the bodies is profound,” the official said. “There are many cases in which arms and legs have been severed.”

Over 1,600 people including political and religious leaders on Monday visited the Muan Sports Complex to offer prayers and floral tributes for those killed in the Jeju Air crash.

Buddhist monks pray at a memorial altar for victims at Muan Sports Complex in Muan, South Korea

KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS

Memorial tablets were erected to 141 victims whose identities have been confirmed. Among those paying their respects were Choi Sang-mok, the country’s acting president, and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader and Jinwoo, the general-secretary of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, according to Chosun Biz.

More than 60,000 Jeju Air bookings have been cancelled by customers in the wake of Sunday’s crash, the airline said.

There were around 33,000 cancellations for domestic flight bookings up to 1pm local time on Monday, a company official told AFP news agency. A further 34,000 international flight tickets were cancelled.

“Given the current situation, the cancellation rate is slightly higher than usual,” Song Kyung-hoon, head of the management support office at Jeju Air, told a news conference. “However, the inflow of new bookings remains steady.”

Some customers are asking whether their flight is on a Boeing 737-800, according to one travel agency, which asked to remain anonymous.

As investigations continue into the reason why the Jeju Air flight crashed, a number of experts posit their own theories.

• Read in full: What caused plane crash in South Korea? Pilots have their theories

Relatives of the passengers on board the crashed Jeju Air flight camped out at Muan international airport overnight as they waited for news.

So far 146 out of the 179 victims have been identified using DNA analysis or fingerprints, Joo Jong-wan, the deputy minister for civil aviation, said on Monday.

The victims were aged between three and 78. All but two were Korean.

Workers sort through the rubble in the attempts to investigate the cause of the crash

AHN YOUNG-JOON/AP

Meanwhile recovery work continued at the crash site, next to the partially burnt tail section. Parts of the aircraft remain scattered across the nearby fields. Soldiers were seen undertaking a close search of a field of reeds next to the runway.

A three-year-old boy is believed to be the youngest victim among the 179 killed in Jeju Air flight 7C2216’s crash after the jet hit a wall at the end of the runway in Muan International Airport.

One man in his sixties told the Korean Yonhap news agency that five of his family members spanning three generations had been on the plane, including his sister-in-law, daughter, her husband and their young children.

• Read in full: Three generations of one family die in South Korean plane crash

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES

While the cause of Jeju Air flight 2216’s accident is still unknown, the manufacturer was already struggling to win back trust.

Almost 12 months ago, a panel blew off one of the plane maker’s 737 Max jets in mid-flight for an Alaska Airlines flight. Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt.

• Read in full: South Korean plane crash deals another blow to Boeing

All 101 Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by airlines in South Korea will be checked as part of a “comprehensive inspection”, a government minister said.

Joo Jong-wan, the deputy minister for civil aviation, said the review would be “carried out intensively”, beginning today, and would continue until January 3.

All Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by airlines in South Korea will be checked

“Maintenance records of key systems such as engines and landing gear will be thoroughly reviewed for 101 aircraft operated by six airlines using the same model as the accident aircraft,” he said.

The investigation into the Jeju Air disaster takes place against the background of a major political crisis in South Korea.

On Monday morning prosecutors announced they had applied for an arrest warrant for the suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Yoon, who faces criminal charges for insurrection, has ignored three summons for questioning. His lawyers said in a letter to the Seoul Western District Court that the arrest warrant was “unjustified” and argued that “an incumbent president cannot be prosecuted for abuse of power”. His impeachment in a vote by parliament has not yet been confirmed by a constitutional court.

The crash marks a climax to an annus horribilis for South Korea, and will prompt more soul-searching within and about a country that is generally lauded as the miracle of Asia, writes Richard Spencer.

The father of Jongluk Duangmanee, one of the Thai victims of the crash, said he wanted to bring his daughter’s remains home so he could say goodbye one last time.

Boonchuay Duangmanee,77, told the state TV broadcaster the 45-year-old factory worker travelled back to Thailand with her South Korean husband earlier this month.

Kweon Seong-dong, acting chairman of the ruling People Power Party, consoles a grieving family member

HAN MYUNG-GU/EPA

“She usually returned to Thailand once a year,” he told Thai PBS. “I never thought that this would be the last time we would see each other when she left for South Korea.”

The other Thai victim, Sirithon Chaue, 22, had been visiting her mother in South Korea. She was studying aviation business management and wanted to pursue a career as a flight attendant, Thai PBS reported.

Jeju Air has confirmed one of its flights from Seoul this morning was forced to return to the airport because of a landing gear problem.

The issue with Flight 7C101, which was heading to Jeju island off the south coast, also involved a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the same model as the jet which crashed on Sunday.

“Shortly after take-off, a signal indicating a landing gear issue was detected on the aircraft’s monitoring system,” Song Kyung-hoon, head of Jeju Air’s management support office, told a news conference.

“At 6:57am, the captain communicated with ground control, and after taking additional measures, the landing gear returned to normal operation. However, the decision was made to return to the airport for a thorough inspection of the aircraft.”

The Jeju Air pilots told air traffic control the passenger jet had suffered a bird strike as they made a scheduled approach to the runway, transport ministry officials said on Monday.

After issuing a mayday warning, the pilots signalled their intention to abandon a first landing attempt and turn around to try again. The plane touched down on its belly about 1,200 metres along the 2,800 metre-long runway.

Investigators are examining whether the aircraft’s control systems were disabled and why the pilots appeared to have rushed to attempt the landing.

Air safety experts have also questioned why the plane was travelling so fast along the runway before it hit the concrete embankment installed to protect the localiser antenna, which is used to guide aircraft along the runway.

Investigations into the cause of the deadliest air disaster in South Korea continued on Monday morning.

All 175 passengers and four crew, including the pilots, were killed when the Jeju Air passenger jet landed on its belly after appearing to suffer a malfunction with the landing gear. Officials said the pilots issued an emergency mayday call shortly after being warned about a possible bird strike.

The plane skidded off the end of the runway, hit a concrete wall and exploded in flames. Two flight attendants were rescued from the burning tail section, which miraculously escaped destruction. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

A recovery team member works at the scene of the crash

YONHAP/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Choi Sang-mok, South Korea’s acting president, said: “Even before the final results are out, we ask that officials transparently disclose the accident investigation process and promptly inform the bereaved families.”

Choi Sang-mok, South Korea’s acting president, has ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system following the Jeju Air crash which killed 179 people.

The transport ministry will also carry out checks on all Boeing 737-8000 aircraft operated by airlines in South Korea as part of the review.

Choi said the inspections would take place once the recovery operation at the crash site had finished. Identifying the victims, supporting their families, and treating the two survivors of the disaster remained the top priority, he told a disaster management meeting in the capital, Seoul.