South Korea probes cause of plane crash that killed 179

Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s airline operation system. The order came after a passenger plane on Sunday crashed during an attempted landing at Muan International Airport in the southern part of the country. Just two flight attendants survived the crash. The Jeju Air flight came down without its landing gear deployed, skidded off the runway, and slammed into a concrete barrier, killing 179 people. The plane was arriving from Bangkok, Thailand. It is the deadliest crash in South Korea since 1997.

What do authorities know so far? The South Korean Transportation Ministry on Monday said officials had retrieved the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders. The investigation will likely take months. The transportation ministry on Monday began inspecting all 101 Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by South Korean airlines, the same model as the one that crashed. The United States National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday said it would send a team to help investigate the incident.

Dig deeper: Read my report about Boeing accepting a plea deal for a pair of deadly crashes.