South Korea orders air safety probe after country's worst aviation disaster kills 179
South Korea has ordered an air safety investigation after one of the country's worst aviation disasters. A jetliner skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete barier and burst into flames Sunday after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system as investigators worked to identify victims and find out what caused the country’s deadliest air disaster.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
Read moreDeath toll in Jeju Air plane crash rises to 179 with only two survivors
The top priority for now is identifying the victims, supporting their families and treating the two survivors, Choi told a disaster management meeting in Seoul.
Investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors in the crash, fire officials have said.
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
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