South Korea’s rival political parties agreed on Tuesday to form a joint task force to investigate the recent Jeju Air plane crash that claimed the lives of 179 people.
The country’s transport minister has also offered to resign in the wake of the tragedy.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, flying from Thailand to Muan, South Korea, on 29 December with 181 passengers and crew, belly-landed at a South Korean airport and slammed into a concrete barrier, resulting in a fiery explosion.
With the exact cause of the crash still under investigation, Tuesday’s agreement to form a joint parliamentary task force came as Transport Minister Park Sang-woo announced his intention to step down at a later date.
The announcement followed weeks of political turmoil, exacerbated by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law last month.
“Our People Power Party and the Democratic Party… decided to establish a special committee,” the ruling PPP said in a statement sent to AFP.
The task force will “investigate the causes” of the crash and offer support to the families of the victims, the statement said.
The opposition Democratic Party confirmed to AFP that it had “agreed” with the PPP to create a joint investigation team.
According to the PPP, the 15-member team will comprise seven members from the ruling party, seven from the opposition, and one independent member.
Minister Park told reporters on Tuesday that he would “act appropriately” in response to the disaster and was “discussing the proper methods and timing” of his resignation.
“As the minister responsible for aviation safety, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility regarding this tragedy,” he said. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport later confirmed that this was the minister’s formal offer of resignation.
Feathers in engine –
South Korean and US investigators are continuing to probe the cause of the crash of Jeju Air flight 2216, which prompted a national outpouring of grief, with memorials set up across the country.
Investigators have identified several possible factors, including a bird strike, faulty landing gear, and the runway barrier.
The pilot reported a bird strike before aborting a first landing attempt. The aircraft then crashed on its second attempt when the landing gear failed to deploy.
On Tuesday, lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol told reporters that “feathers were found” in one of the plane’s recovered engines. However, he cautioned that a bird strike does not necessarily lead to immediate engine failure.
“We need to investigate whether it affected both engines. It is certain that one engine has definitely experienced a bird strike,” he said.
Authorities have raided offices at Muan Airport, where the crash occurred, as well as a regional aviation office in the southwest and Jeju Air’s headquarters in Seoul. The airline’s chief executive has also been barred from leaving the country.
On Tuesday, Jeju Air announced plans to cut 188 international flights departing from Busan in the first quarter of the year to improve operational safety. The announcement follows an earlier decision to reduce flight operations by 10 to 15 per cent by March for the same reason.
