Muan, Jan 2 (NationPress) On Thursday, South Korean authorities executed a raid at Muan International Airport, the Jeju Air office, and additional locations linked to the airline's tragic accident that claimed 179 lives, marking a significant escalation in their investigation into the most severe aviation disaster on the nation’s territory.
The Jeonnam Provincial Police carried out search and seizure missions at the airport situated in the southwest region of South Korea, as well as at the Seoul office of Jeju Air and the Muan office of the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, according to officials.
A search warrant was issued on the grounds of professional negligence resulting in death, officials stated.
Investigators are gathering evidence concerning the legitimacy of the airport's localiser system, which involves a concrete wall housing an antenna array situated near the runway at the time, along with the communication records between the control tower and the pilot just prior to the plane crash.
On Sunday, a Jeju Air passenger jet arriving from Bangkok tragically crashed into the outer wall of Muan International Airport during an emergency landing, leading to the death of 179 out of 181 individuals on board.
The aircraft skidded across the runway without its landing gear deployed, colliding with a concrete wall and erupting into flames with a deafening explosion. This incident is now recognized as the deadliest aviation disaster in the history of the nation.
Reports indicate that the airport control tower had issued a warning regarding a potential bird strike mere minutes before the pilot declared a mayday and attempted to land the plane without deploying its landing gear, as per the Land Ministry.
Investigations will focus on whether there were any complications during the emergency landing procedure, including the actions taken by the airport tower controller.
As of Wednesday, the identities of all 179 victims had been confirmed, and authorities are actively working to match the damaged remains with the victims through DNA analysis.
As of Thursday morning, the remains of 24 victims had been handed over to their families, with funeral proceedings underway for 10 of these individuals, according to officials.
Authorities have also commenced the process of returning personal belongings recovered from the crash site to the respective families.
Approximately 158,000 people have visited the joint memorial altars established nationwide to honor the victims.
In a related development, the Land Ministry's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board announced on Thursday that it has finalized the conversion of data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder into an audio format.
The black boxes, including the Flight Data Recorder retrieved from the wreckage, are scheduled to be sent to the United States for analysis due to the damage they incurred during the incident.
