South Korean officials today said that they would conduct safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. The investigation is part of an attempt to find the exact cause of Sunday’s tragic accident at Muan International Airport that killed 179 people.

Reportedly, South Korea’s acting president Choi Sang-mok chaired a task force meeting on Monday to carry out an emergency review of the country’s aircraft operation systems. Choi Sang-mok is also the deputy prime minister and finance minister.

He said that the essence of a responsible response would be renovating the aviation safety systems on the whole to prevent recurrences of similar incidents and building a safer Republic of South Korea.

A former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines and now a consultant, Alan Price told media that the Boeing 737-800 series is a proven airplane that belongs to a different class than the controversial 737 Max series that was under the scanner between 2018 and 2019 due to a series of fatal crashes.

The transport ministry also said it would conduct a safety audit of all 101 Boeing 737-800 jetliners operated by the country’s airlines and a broader review of safety standards at Jeju Air. Furthermore, the company, whose aircraft crashed on Sunday, operates 39 Boeing 737-800 series planes.

Additionally, the ministry will also examine whether the Muan airport’s localiser, a concrete fence housing a set of antennas designed to guide aircraft safely during landings -should be built with lighter materials that would break easily on impact. Lighter structures are being used in other domestic airports, including in Jeju Island and the southern cities of Yeosu and Pohang.

The officials are also looking at a possible communication disruption between air traffic controllers and the pilot before the fatal crash. A ministry official mentioned that their current understanding is that, at some point during the go-around process, communication became somewhat ineffective or was interrupted ahead of the landing and impact.

The death toll from a plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday morning has risen to 122, with only two survivors reported. According to reports, the passenger plane caught fire after skidding off the runway and colliding with a concrete barrier, reportedly due to a malfunction in the front landing gear.

The fire service has indicated that most of the remaining passengers and crew are presumed dead. Among the deceased, 54 are male, 57 are female, and the gender of 11 individuals is yet to be determined. The two survivors are both crew members: one male and one female.

The Jeju Air flight was carrying a total of 181 passengers and crew members at the time of the crash. Emergency officials are investigating the cause of the fire, noting that the plane’s landing gear appeared to have failed. The Transport Ministry stated that the aircraft was returning from Bangkok and included two Thai nationals among its passengers.

The National Fire Agency stated that the fire has been nearly extinguished, though rescue teams are still working to retrieve individuals from the Jeju Air plane at the airport in Muan, which is approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul.

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae released a statement expressing deep regret and offering sincere condolences to the victims’ families, stating, “I take full responsibility as the CEO, regardless of the cause.”

According to ministry officials, the flight data recorder, or black box, has been recovered by the accident investigation committee, although the voice recording device has not yet been found. These black boxes are essential for aviation safety investigators in determining the facts surrounding the incident.

This tragic event marks one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last major air disaster in the country occurred in 1997 when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, resulting in the deaths of 228 people on board.

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 jet, which crashed near Aqtau in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, has raised questions about a possible accidental strike by a Russian missile. The flight was en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, when it went down, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. Among the survivors were two young girls, aged 11 and 16.

Investigation points to missile damage

Aviation and military experts have suggested that the crash may have been caused by a surface-to-air missile or anti-aircraft fire. Reports from media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Euronews highlighted shrapnel-like damage to the plane’s fuselage and tail section, consistent with missile strikes.

Footage shared online showed holes resembling shrapnel marks, adding weight to this theory. Matt Borie, Chief Intelligence Officer at Osprey Flight Solutions, told the Journal that the wreckage and security conditions in the region suggest the aircraft may have been hit by anti-aircraft fire.

The crash occurred in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been reported. Grozny, the destination city, is heavily guarded by Russian anti-aircraft systems due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Survivors report explosions

Passengers seated in the tail section of the plane, where all survivors were located, reported hearing loud explosions shortly after the plane’s request to land at Grozny airport was denied. Visuals captured the aircraft struggling to maintain altitude before crashing into a field about three kilometers from Aqtau airport.

Azerbaijan Airlines initially attributed the crash to a bird strike but later withdrew this claim. The plane’s black box has been recovered, and investigators will examine flight data and cockpit recordings for further insights.

Potential precedent

If a Russian missile is confirmed as the cause, this would mark the second time a commercial plane has been shot down in the region. In 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH-17 was downed by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, killing all on board.

Official responses

Kazakh officials, including Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev, have urged patience until the investigation concludes, stressing that no party has an interest in concealing information. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned premature speculation.

National mourning in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared a national day of mourning and canceled a planned visit to Russia. In a statement, Aliyev expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for a thorough investigation.

As the investigation continues, questions remain about the safety of civilian aircraft in a region embroiled in conflict.