Police in South Korea have banned Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-bae from leaving the country amid an investigation into the deadliest-ever air disaster on South Korean soil. The move came on Thursday as aviation authorities stepped up their probe into the cause of the deadly crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 on Sunday, which killed 179 of 181 people on board, with the police issuing a statement saying they planned to “swiftly and rigorously determine the cause and responsibility” for the accident.
The regional aviation office in the southwest city, the Jeju Air headquarters in the capital Seoul, and the Muan airport, the scene of the crash of aircraft 2216, were all the targets of "search and seizure operations" conducted by the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency Friday morning.
The first data was taken from one of the Boeing 737-800's two black boxes, according to South Korean investigators on Wednesday. The other black box will be shipped to the United States for study because of damage sustained in the disaster.
In addition to conducting a more comprehensive investigation into the nation's airline operations, South Korean authorities have begun inspecting every Boeing 737-800 planes currently in service.
Choi Sang-mok, the nation's acting president, stated on Thursday that if the inspections find any issues with the aircraft model, quick action must be done.
"The transport ministry and pertinent organizations must conduct a thorough inspection of operation maintenance, education, and training because the same aircraft model involved in the accident has caused a great deal of public concern," Choi stated.
A collision with birds, a mechanical malfunction, and the existence of a reinforced embankment less than 300 meters (328 yards) from the runway's end are just a few of the potential reasons and contributing factors that aviation experts have brought up in relation to the tragedy.
Shortly after the pilot alerted air traffic control of a bird hit, the Boeing 737-800 belly-landed on the runway without its landing gear deployed, then skidded into a concrete embankment and burst into flames.
Since a Korean Air Boeing 747 slammed into a Guam hillside in 1997, killing 228 people, this crash was the deadliest involving a South Korean carrier.
