It would be recalled that the Boeing 737-800 involved in the latest incident was the same model as the Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday killing 179 people after coming down without its landing gear engaged.
The South Korean airline said Jeju Air Flight 7C101, which departed Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport for Jeju island “at around 6:37 am, returned to Gimpo at 7:25 am after a landing gear issue was detected shortly after takeoff.
Local media reported that 21 passengers chose not to board an alternate flight to Jeju, citing concerns over safety and other reasons.
Jeju Air’s 41 plane fleet includes 39 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
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Seoul said it would conduct a special inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800 planes in operation in the country, with US investigators, possibly including from plane manufacturer Boeing, joining the probe into the crash.
Joo added that the government plans to implement rigorous aviation safety inspections in response to the – landing gear – incidents.
In Sunday’s crash at Muan, the Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea reportedly made a mayday call and belly-landed before crashing into a barrier and bursting into flames.
Everyone on board Jeju Air Flight 2216 was killed, save two flight attendants pulled from the wreckage.