S. Korea crash puts fast-growing Jeju Air's safety under scrutiny

Airline flew its aircraft more than domestic rivals as well as many of its global peers

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Before it suffered the deadliest crash in South Korea's history, budget airline Jeju Air was moving fast: racking up record passenger numbers and flying its aircraft more than domestic rivals and many of its global peers, data show.

The high utilization rate of Jeju Air's planes - the number of hours they fly in a day - is not problematic in itself, experts say, but means scheduling enough time for required maintenance is crucial.

The authorities have suggested a bird strike contributed to the accident, but as part of their probe into the incident involving a Boeing 737-800, police have raided the airline's Seoul office to seize documents related to the operation and maintenance of the plane.

"You're literally looking at everything," said aviation safety and crash investigation expert Anthony Brickhouse. "You're going to start off with their accident history and safety history. What kind of events have they had in the past, what happened, what was done to correct the issues?"

Jeju Air told Reuters that it did not neglect maintenance procedures and that it would step up safety efforts. The Dec. 29 crash, which killed 179 people, was its first fatal accident since its 2005 founding and the first for any Korean airline in more than a decade.