Investing.com — Shares of Boeing (NYSE: ) fell more than 4% in premarket trading on Monday after a devastating air crash in South Korea that killed 179 people on Sunday when a passenger jet crashed on landing at Muan International Airport.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, skidded off the runway, crashed into a wall and burst into flames, making it the deadliest aviation disaster in the country’s history.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which took off from Bangkok, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members. The plane attempted to land shortly after 9 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), according to South Korea’s transport ministry.
Two crew members, the only known survivors, were pulled from the wreckage and are receiving medical attention. The ministry confirmed that this incident was the worst accident of a South Korean airline in almost 30 years.
Shares of Jeju Air (KS: ) fell over 8% on Monday on the Korea Stock Exchange.
Footage shared by local media shows the Boeing 737-800 skidding down the runway without the landing gear extended, before hitting airport infrastructure and bursting into flames.
A local health official reported that two survivors, a man and a woman, were found in the tail section of the plane. They are given help for medium to severe injuries.
Investigators are looking into the possibility of bird strikes or adverse weather conditions as contributing factors. Yonhap news agency quoted airport officials as suggesting that the bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
This incident exceeds the severity of the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which resulted in more than 200 deaths, and the 2002 Air China (OTC:) crash in South Korea that killed 129 people.
In accordance with international aviation protocols, South Korea will oversee the investigation, assisted by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB confirmed it is sending a team of experts, joined by Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to support the investigation.
