Seoul, Dec 30 (NationPress) Transportation safety authorities from the United States are preparing to lend their expertise to South Korea in investigating the cause of a catastrophic Jeju Air plane crash that resulted in 179 fatalities, according to a US official on Monday.
The incident occurred early Sunday when Jeju Air flight 7C2216 went off the runway during a belly landing, colliding with a fence at Muan International Airport in Muan County, located approximately 290 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
The crash involving the Boeing 737-800 aircraft resulted in the loss of 179 lives, with two individuals successfully rescued, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
In a statement sent via email to Yonhap News Agency, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the formation of a team alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist South Korean authorities in their investigation.
“The NTSB is leading a team of U.S. investigators that includes the FAA and Boeing to aid the Republic of Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) with their investigation into the December 29 Jeju Air crash,” stated Donnell Evans, a communications official at the FAA.
The South Korean government has also confirmed the involvement of U.S. authorities.
“Regarding the accident investigation, the U.S. NTSB has agreed to participate, and discussions are ongoing about the involvement of Boeing and the engine manufacturer CFM International,” Joo Jong-wan, head of the aviation policy bureau at the South Korean transport ministry, announced during a press briefing.
Earlier, an official from South Korea's ARAIB, which operates under the transport ministry, mentioned that the flight data recorder retrieved from the aircraft sustained damage.
“If we encounter difficulties in decoding it here, we may need to send it to the NTSB,” the official remarked. “They handle cases from across the globe for analysis, so it could take a considerable amount of time.”
This accident is the most deadly aviation disaster in South Korea since 1997, when a Korean Air plane crashed in Guam, resulting in 225 deaths.
