The police inquiries come as aviation authorities investigate the cause of the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
Police in South Korea have raided Muan International Airport, the offices of Jeju Air and a regional aviation body amid investigations into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency conducted the “search and seizure operation” at three locations on Thursday morning, officials said.
The raids come as aviation authorities, including officials from the United States, are investigating the cause of the deadly crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 on Sunday, which killed 179 of the 181 people on board.
South Korean authorities said on Wednesday they had extracted initial data from one of the Boeing 737-800’s two black boxes, while the other would be sent to the United States for analysis due to damage it sustained in the crash.
South Korean officials have launched an inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft in operation, as well as a broader investigation of all of the country’s air operations.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, said on Thursday that immediate action should be taken if inspections reveal any problems with the plane’s design.
“Since there is great public concern about the same model aircraft involved in the accident, the transport ministry and relevant organizations should conduct a thorough inspection of operational maintenance, education and training,” Choi said.
Aviation experts have raised a number of possible causes and contributing factors to the disaster, including a bird strike, mechanical failure and the presence of a hardened embankment less than 300 meters (328 yards) from the end of the runway.
The Boeing 737-800 belly-landed on the runway, without its landing gear deployed, shortly after the pilot reported a bird strike to air traffic control, before skidding onto a concrete embankment and bursting into flames.
The crash was the deadliest accident involving a South Korean airline since a Korean Air Boeing 747 crashed into a hill in Guam in 1997, killing 228 people.
