South Korean police conducted a series of raids on Thursday, searching offices and the airport involved in Sunday’s deadly plane crash to determine responsibility for the disaster.
Investigators from the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency targeted the Busan Regional Aviation Administration’s office in Muan County, Muan International Airport, and Jeju Air Co.’s office in Seoul, starting at 9 a.m, according to Bloomberg.
The coordinated raids followed the police’s investigation into the fatal crash of a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air.
The plane was attempting an emergency landing on Sunday when it skidded off the runway on its belly, exploding after hitting a structure, resulting in the deaths of 179 out of the 181 people on board.
The accident occurred shortly after the airport control tower warned the pilot of potential bird strikes.
The police investigation seeks to determine the cause of the country’s deadliest aviation disaster and assign responsibility, according to the spokesperson.
Experts have raised concerns about the design of the airport, particularly the concrete-topped embankment at the end of the runway.
This structure was built to support the airport’s localizer antennas, which are used to guide planes during landing, transport officials stated.
Investigators have successfully extracted data from the voice recorder, according to Joo Jong-wan, a senior official at the transport ministry, during a briefing on Thursday.
The recorder contains the pilot’s communication and engine sounds from the final two hours of the flight.
The flight data recorder, which tracks parameters like altitude, airspeed, and heading, was damaged in the crash and will be sent to the US for repair, authorities stated.
