Jeju Air recently encountered two serious incidents with its Boeing 737 -800 aircraft within two days, raising safety concerns.
On Monday, a Jeju Air flight departing from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport experienced a landing gear problem shortly after takeoff. En route to Jeju, the aircraft returned and safely landed at Gimpo at 7:25 a.m., as reported by Yonhap via Reuters. The airline confirmed that all 161 passengers were unharmed and briefed about the mechanical issue.
This incident followed another severe accident involving a different Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 at Muan International Airport less than a day earlier. That flight from Bangkok faced a landing gear failure during its landing attempt. It veered off the runway, collided with the airport’s perimeter wall, and caught fire, leading to 179 fatalities among the 181 passengers. Initial investigations suggested a bird strike might have caused the malfunction, though ongoing inquiries are examining other factors like weather conditions.
Read: Deadliest Plane Crash in South Korea Claims 179 Lives at Muan Airport
Following the Muan tragedy, Jeju Air’s CEO, Kim E-bae, publicly assumed responsibility for the incident.
Established in 2005, Jeju Air is a budget airline that operates 41 aircraft, including 39 Boeing 737-800 models. Until these incidents, the airline had a solid safety track record with no previous accidents.
Authorities are conducting thorough investigations into both events, focusing on the aircraft’s mechanical integrity, bird strike risks, and adherence to operational protocols. Jeju Air confirmed that the aircraft involved in the Muan crash had been operational for 15 years without any issues.
A Jeju Air spokesperson stated, “We are actively working to ascertain the precise causes and details surrounding these incidents.”
