The US has sent South Korean investigators to investigate the deadly plane crash

The death toll from South Korea’s decades-old plane crash stood at 179 on Monday, a day after the tragedy hit the already politically troubled country.

The United States is now sending investigators to help find out what caused the Jeju Air plane to crash at Muan Airport and hit a concrete wall on Sunday.

Meanwhile, South Korean officials are collecting more than 600 body parts, and the smell of blood is still in the air at the crash site, reports the Daily Mail.

So far, 141 bodies have been identified. The youngest passenger was 3 years old and the oldest was 78, the BBC reported.

The plane had 181 people on board, and only two survivors – identified as 32-year-old Lee and 25-year-old Kwon, both crew members – were pulled from the burning tail section alive.

Doctors at Mokpo Korean Hospital reportedly explained that Lee, who suffered a fractured left shoulder and head but remained unconscious, repeatedly asked them “What happened?” and “Why am I here?”

“It seems that he was in a state of fear, possibly worried about the safety of the plane and the passengers,” another hospital official told The Korea Times.

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Kwon, who is being treated at Mokpo Central Hospital, suffered a head injury, a broken ankle and a broken stomach, according to the report. He also did not immediately remember the accident.

“Although his life is not in danger, the trauma and injuries are serious,” another hospital said, according to the Korea Times.

South Korea’s Transport Ministry said Monday it plans to conduct a safety inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800 planes operated by the country’s airlines and a comprehensive review of safety standards at Jeju Air, which operates 39 of those planes. The department’s chief executive Joo Jong-wan said representatives of the US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing are expected to arrive in South Korea on Monday to participate in the investigation.

“The NTSB is leading a team of US investigators (NTSB, Boeing and FAA) to assist the Republic of Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) with its investigation into the Jeju Air crash of the 29th at Muan International Airport in Muan, Republic of Korea,” the NTSB Newsroom account wrote on X.

Ministry officials also said they would look into whether Muan Airport’s mainstay – a concrete fence with antennas designed to guide aircraft safely when landing – should have been made of lighter materials that could easily break in a collision.

Joo said the minister has decided that similar concrete structures are at other domestic airports, including Jeju Island and the southern cities of Yeosu and Pohang, as well as airports in the United States, Spain and South Africa.

Sunday’s crash, the country’s worst aviation disaster in decades, has sparked an outpouring of national sympathy. Many people are worried about how well the South Korean government will handle the crisis as it faces a leadership crisis following the recent impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, two of the country’s top officials, amid the political upheaval created by Yoon’s. the brief imposition of martial law earlier this month.

New Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday chaired a meeting of the emergency response team and ordered authorities to review the country’s aviation operations.

“The core of the appropriate response will be to completely overhaul aviation security systems to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents and build a safer Republic of South Korea,” said Choi, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, according to The Associated Press.

A police officer works with a dog outside Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

LAST MOMENTS OF A SOUTH KOREA PLANE CAPTURED ON VIDEO BEFORE HITTING THE CONSOLE BARRIER, TO BE CONTINUED

A Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air has aborted its first landing attempt for reasons that were not immediately clear. Then, when it attempted to land a second time, it received a bird strike warning from the ground control center before its pilot released the distress signal. The plane landed without front landing gear, overshot the runway, hit a concrete fence and burst into flames.

The Department of Transportation said authorities have identified 146 bodies and are collecting DNA samples and fingerprints from 33 others, according to the AP.

Mr. Park Han Shin, representing the bereaved families, said they were told that the bodies were so badly damaged that officials needed time before they could be returned to their families.

“I am asking the government to gather more workers to bring back our brothers and family members as soon as possible,” he said with tears in his eyes.

Earlier on Monday, another Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air returned to Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport shortly after takeoff when the pilot experienced a landing gear problem. Jeju Air CEO Song Kyung-hoon said the issue was resolved by contacting the ground control center, but the pilot decided to return to Gimpo as a precaution.

South Korean national flags fly atop a government building in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee ​​Jin-man)

Joo said officials were looking into the possibility of communication problems between the air traffic controllers and the pilot.

“What we understand right now is that, at some point during the process, communication became ineffective or disrupted, prior to impact,” he said.

Ministry officials said on Monday that the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders had been moved to a research center at Gimpo Airport before being analysed. Earlier, officials of the Department said that it will take months to complete the investigation into the accident.

The Muan crash is South Korea’s worst aviation disaster since 1997, when a Korean Air Force One crashed in Guam, killing 228 people.

The crash left many South Koreans shocked and ashamed, as the government declared a seven-day period of national mourning until Jan. 4. Some have questioned whether the accident involves safety or regulatory issues, such as the 2022 Halloween crush in Seoul that killed 160 people and the 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people.

Video of the crash showed the pilots did not deploy flaps or slats to slow the plane down, indicating a possible hydraulic failure, and did not lower the landing gear, indicating they did not have time, John Cox, a retired pilot and CEO. of Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida, he told the AP.

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Besides, the plane was under control and flying in a straight line, and the damage and injuries would have been minimized had it not been for the obstacle being so close to the runway, Cox said. Some observers said the videos showed the plane had engine trouble, but a malfunctioning landing gear was the direct cause of the crash. They told the AP that there could be no connection between the landing gear problem and the engine problem.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.