South Korea plane crash: Jeju Air cuts flights as anger grows over airport wall

South Korean officials said inspections of all 101 B737-800s operated by South Korean airlines were set to wrap up by 3 January, though the airport would stay closed until 7 January.

Acting president Choi Sang-mok yesterday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation.

South Korea ramped up investigations today into the cause of its deadliest domestic air accident as police scrambled to identify victims, while families of those killed in this week’s crash of a Jeju Air jet pushed for more details.

All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when the Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport on Sunday, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into an embankment holding navigation equipment.

But remarks in the airport’s operating manual, uploaded early in 2024, said the embankment was too close to the end of the runway and recommended that the location of the equipment be reviewed during a planned expansion.

A transport ministry official said authorities would need to check the document before replying to questions.

A Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people skidded down the runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday before crashing.

Yonhap news agency, citing firefighting authorities reported that, except for the two rescued, all the missing passengers are presumed dead and search efforts have now shifted to recovering the bodies.

The aircraft appeared to land without its landing gear deployed as it touched down on the tarmac, skidding and veering off the runway before slamming into a wall and bursting into flames.

The Jeju Air plane that crashed in Muan killing 179 people had operated 13 flights in 48 hours just prior to the fatal incident, Yonhap news agency reported citing sources.

The high number of trips in such a short period has raised concerns over excessive usage of the Boeing B737-800 aircraft to meet the Holiday rush.

It was found to have traveled to domestic and international destinations, including Beijing, Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu, Nagasaki and Taipei.

The remains of at least 174 people have been identified by South Korean officials as grieving families camp outside the morgue for the bodies of their loved ones.

“Of the 32 people who could not be identified by fingerprints, we identified 17 people in the first DNA test and 10 more in the second round,” the land ministry said today.

“We are further confirming the remaining five due to DNA inconsistencies.” Officials yesterday said it could take up to 10 days to prepare the dead for transport.

Desperate families who camped out at an airport awaiting news of their loved ones “wailed and passed out” as names of the 179 killed in South Korea’s deadliest plane crash were announced yesterday.

Grief and shock swept through the room as it emerged the only two survivors were cabin crew sitting at the back of the Boeing 737-800 which crash-landed at Muan International airport.

Investigators have retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, but it could be months before the cause of the disaster is clear – including why Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok landed without its slats or wheels deployed, and why there was a solid object beyond the runway perimeter that the pilots were unable to avoid.

Shares of South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air hit their lowest on record yesterday, after the deadliest air crash in the country killed 179 people.

Jeju Air shares traded down 8.5 per cent after falling as much as 15.7 per cent earlier in the session to 6,920won (£3.74), the lowest since they were listed in 2015.

The share slide yesterday wiped out as much as 95.7bn won (£51.9m) in market capitalisation.