South Korea police search Jeju Air, airport operator over fatal plane crash

SEOUL — South Korean police said on Thursday (Jan 2) they had raided Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport as part of their investigation into Sunday's crash that killed 179 people in the worst aviation disaster on the country's soil.

Jeju Air 7C2216, which departed the Thai capital of Bangkok for Muan in southwestern South Korea, belly-landed and overshot the regional airport's runway, exploding into flames after hitting an embankment.

Two crew members, who were sitting in the tail end of the Boeing 737-800, were pulled out alive by rescuers. One of them was still in a critical condition and the other was being treated for injuries, a transport ministry official said.

The conversion of data from the cockpit voice recorder to audio files, which could provide critical information on the final minutes of the flight, was completed on Thursday, Joo Jong-wan, the deputy transport minister for civil aviation, told a media briefing.

Police investigators were searching the offices of the airport operator and the transportation ministry aviation authority in the southwestern county of Muan, as well as the office of Jeju Air in Seoul, the South Jeolla provincial police said in a media statement.

Investigators planned to seize documents and materials related to the operation and maintenance of the aircraft as well as the operation of airport facilities, a police official told Reuters.

The official also said police had banned Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-bae and another unidentified official from leaving the country, calling them key witnesses potentially facing charges of causing deaths by negligence, which is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won (S$18,650).

Jeju Air was