After Sunday’s deadly plane crash in South Korea, authorities are investigating similar model planes operating at airports across the country.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 was landing at Muan International Airport at around 9am when the plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a wall.
A total of 175 passengers and six crew members were on board the Boeing 737 that took off from Bangkok, Thailand.
A total of 179 people were killed on the plane, and two flight attendants – a man and a woman – were the only survivors of the crash.
Firefighters and rescue workers work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on December 29, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images
As of Tuesday morning local time, officials were still identifying the victims of the crash, and the remains of the four people were taken to their families for burial.
Authorities are conducting a full investigation into more than 100 aircraft of the same B737-800 model. The planes are currently operating at six local airlines, officials said.
The investigation examines the maintenance history of the engines, landing gear and aircraft operational records.
“There are no plans to suspend operations, but those parts will be re-examined and thoroughly checked during the inspection process,” said Song Kyung-hoon, head of the Jeju Air Management Support Division.
Representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing are investigating the crash.
The Muan International Airport runway will be closed for investigation until January 7, officials said.
Workers work at the site of a plane that crashed after skidding off the runway at Muan International Airport, South Korea, on December 30, 2024.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
The two flight attendants who survived the crash were recovering in separate hospitals in Seoul on Monday, according to Korea’s Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.
None of the survivors suffered life-threatening injuries, the ministry said, adding that both woke up in hospital after hearing an explosion upon landing with no memory of what happened.
The man, identified only by his last name Lee, was being treated for the fracture in an intensive care unit. He was alert and talking to medical staff, Ju Woong, director of Ewha Womans University Hospital in Seoul, said at a news conference on Monday.
“(Lee) is fully able to communicate,” Woong added. “No signs of memory loss or anything like that yet.”
The woman, a 25-year-old flight attendant surnamed Koo, was also recovering, although not in intensive care, according to hospital staff and officials, as well as Korea’s Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
