South Korean Govt Probes Barrier Hit in Jeju Air Crash

Officials suggested a bird strike, but experts flagged the barrier as video shows the Boeing 737-800 bursting into flames upon collision

- Agence France-Presse

MUAN: South Korean authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating the role of a concrete barrier at the end of Muan airport runway in the country's worst air disaster, which killed 179 people as a Jeju Air jet crashed on landing.

US investigators, including from Boeing, were at the crash site in southwestern Muan, officials said, as South Korean authorities began assessing two black boxes retrieved from the burned-out wreckage of the aircraft.

The plane was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea when it made a mayday call and belly-landed before hitting the barrier and bursting into flames, killing everyone aboard except two flight attendants pulled from the burning wreckage.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who has only been in office since Friday, said the accident was a "turning point" for the country, calling for a full overhaul of air safety systems. He urged officials to "thoroughly reexamine the overall aircraft operation system...and immediately address any necessary improvements."