A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 takes off from Osaka Kansai Airport.
Fabrizio Gandolfo | Light rocket | Getty Images
Accident investigators are trying to figure out what caused a Jeju Air plane to land on its belly with its landing gear down at Muan International Airport in southwestern South Korea, killing all but two of the 181 people on board as it burst into flames in the country's worst-ever case air disasters have occurred for decades.
South Korea's incumbent President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency inspection of the country Boeing 737-800, the type of aircraft used on the fatal Jeju Air Flight 7C2216.
The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world and has a strong safety record. It is older than the Boeing 737 Max, which was involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed all 346 people aboard those flights. The 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years, and a flight control system that was later optimized was involved in both crashes.
The scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series plane crashed and burst into flames is seen at Muan International Airport in Muan, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on December 30, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Nearly 4,400 of the older Boeing 737-800s are in service worldwide, according to aviation data company Cirium. This means the model accounts for approximately 17% of the commercial passenger aircraft fleet in operation worldwide.
The average age of the global 737-800 fleet is 13 years, according to Cirium, and the last aircraft in the series were delivered about five years ago.
Jeju Air has taken delivery of the plane involved in this weekend's crash in 2017. According to Flightradar24, it was previously operated by European budget airline Ryanair. The aircraft involved in the crash was approximately 15 years old.
Aerospace experts say it is unlikely that investigators will find a design problem with the long-haul aircraft.
“The idea that they would find a design flaw at this point is almost unthinkable,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, an aerospace consulting firm.
A full investigation could take more than a year, and the unusual incident has raised more questions than answers, such as why the landing gear wasn't extended. Even in the event of a hydraulic malfunction, Boeing 737-800 pilots can manually eject the landing gear.
One theory is that a possible bird strike knocked out at least one, if not both, engines.
“If this happened at the altitude they were at, they may not have had time to prepare emergency checklists,” said Jeff Guzzetti, a retired aviation safety investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. He also said that if the plane had not hit a pile of dirt and a hard wall at the end of the runway, the accident would have been easier to survive. There was a tracking device in this area that helps guide aircraft.
The NTSB leads the US investigative team, which includes Boeing and the FAA because the aircraft was manufactured and certified in the United States.
According to international protocols, the country where the accident occurred will lead the entire investigation.
Boeing shares fell more than 4% early Monday after local officials called for inspections of South Korean airlines' 737-800 planes, but erased earlier losses to end the day down 2.3%.
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