The United States is sending investigators to South Korea to help determine the cause of a historic plane crash that took the lives of 179 people, according to a report from Fox News.
The death toll amounted to 179 and stands to be South Korea’s most fatal plane crash in decades. South Korean investigators are currently combing through more than 600 body parts.
The BBC claimed that 141 bodies have been identified. The youngest passenger was just three years old and the oldest was 78.
The crash happened when a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by budget airline Jeju Air aborted its first landing attempt for unknown reasons. During the airliner’s second landing attempt, it received a bird strike warning from the ground control center before its pilot issued a distress signal.
The plane landed without front landing gear deployed, overshot the runway, and slammed into a concrete fence which caused the plane to burst into flames.
The plane had 181 people on board and two lone survivors. Both survivors are female flight attendants who were pulled from the tail end of the aircraft. They’ve been identified as 32-year-old Lee and 25-year-old Kwon.
Doctors at Mokpo Korean Hospital said Lee suffered a fractured left shoulder and head injuries. Kwon, who is being treated at Mokpo Central Hospital, suffered a scalp laceration, a fractured ankle, and abdominal pain. Neither has a recollection of the crash.
“While her life is not in danger, the trauma and injuries are significant,” a hospital official said of Kwon.
South Korea’s Transportation Ministry said it plans to conduct safety inspections on all the 101 Boeing 737-800 jetliners and a separate investigation will probe Jeju Air, which operates 39 of those Boeing planes.
Representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing are expected to arrive in South Korea to participate in the investigation.
