Jeju air safety scare prompts probe after fatal crash
The South Korean agency Yonhap reported that a Jeju Air plane that took off on Monday from Gimpo Airport in Seoul had to turn back after detecting a similar landing gear issue to the one that caused the same airline's aircraft crash on Sunday.
The Boeing 737-800, with 161 passengers on board, took off from Gimpo International Airport early Monday morning. It was headed for Jeju, an island located south of mainland South Korea. Shortly after takeoff, the flight captain detected a landing gear malfunction and returned to Seoul.
It was the same aircraft model involved in Sunday's crash. As a result of that incident, 179 people died; at that time, the failure involved all three landing gear reported Yonhap.
Problems with aeroplanes in South Korea
Although a re-check confirmed that the landing gear was functioning properly, the captain returned to the airport for safety reasons, according to a Jeju Air representative quoted by the agency. The operator uses 39 Boeing 737-800 units, and its entire fleet consists of 41 aircraft.
Passengers from Monday's flight were transferred to another plane, but 21 chose not to board due to safety concerns.
The acting president of South Korea, Choi Sang Mok, ordered an emergency safety inspection of all airlines on Monday following Sunday's plane crash at Muan Airport. The airport will remain closed until Wednesday.
