Authorities have finished the search operations at the site of the Jeju Air crash, one week after a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed at Muan International Airport (MWX).
On December 29, 2024, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, traveling from Bangkok, Thailand, suffered a runway excursion during an emergency belly landing at Muan International Airport. The aircraft exploded after colliding with an embankment. 179 of the 181 people on board lost their lives.
The national forensic team, firefighting agency, and police concluded their final search around the tail section of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 on January 4, 2025, late in the evening. This section was the only part of the aircraft that remained intact after the crash, according to a report by the South Korean news agency Yonhap News.
Investigators said that finding more bodies or personal belongings was unlikely, according to the Yonhap News report.
South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB), along with a team from the US government and Boeing, began a joint investigation into the accident on December 31, 2024. For the first week, the focus has been on recovering victims and determining the cause of the crash.
As of January 6, 2025, investigators continue to explore potential reasons for the crash. They are examining several factors, including a bird strike, faulty landing gear, and problems with the runway barrier. However, none of these have been confirmed as the primary cause.
Muan Airport remains closed
The government of South Korea has decided to extend the closure of Muan International Airport by a week until January 14, 2025, according to a report seen by Barron’s. The initial plan was for the airport to reopen on January 7, 2025.
The ministry did not provide specific reasons for the extension. However, during a briefing held last week Joo Jong-wan, Aviation Policy Chief at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said that “if the investigation gets longer, the period [of closure] is susceptible to change”, Barron’s report read.
On January 3, 2025, due to the prolonged investigation into the deadly Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport, South Korean police barred Jeju Air CEO Kim E-Bae from leaving the country.
