Mu-an Airport Disaster Aircraft 'Boeing 737-800'... Total 101 Units Operating Domestically

The Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which caused a large number of casualties due to runway excursion at Jeonnam Muan International Airport, has been confirmed to be a '737-800' model manufactured by the American company Boeing. Although the exact cause of the accident has not yet been determined, domestic consumers' anxiety is increasing.

On the 29th, at Muan International Airport in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, a firefighter paramedic is searching inside the Jeju Air passenger plane involved in a collision and explosion accident. / Photo by Yonhap News

According to the aviation industry on the 29th, the Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-haul aircraft first produced by Boeing in 1967. The 737, Boeing's longest-running aircraft model, holds the record for the highest sales with over 10,000 units sold.

The Boeing 737 is broadly divided into the 737 Original, 737 Classic, Next Generation 737 (737 NG), and 737 Max. Among these, the 737-800, a model of the 737 NG, has sold more than 5,000 units since its launch in 1997, accounting for about half of Boeing's 737 sales.

According to the Aviation Technology Information System (ATIS), 101 units of the 737-800 model are currently operating in South Korea, mainly by low-cost carriers (LCCs). By company, there are ▲Jeju Air 39 units ▲T'way Air 27 units ▲Jin Air 19 units ▲Eastar Jet 10 units ▲Air Incheon 4 units ▲Korean Air 2 units.

The Boeing 737 series aircraft have recently caused issues in the United States due to a series of accidents. Most of these accidents involved the 'Boeing 737 Max' model, but the Boeing 737-800 model also caused problems this year.

On January 5th, an Alaska Airlines flight 1282 Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane, which took off from Portland International Airport in Oregon, made an emergency landing after part of a window and wall was torn off while flying at about 5,000 meters altitude. According to the preliminary investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), four bolts securing the door were missing during the aircraft assembly.

Later, on March 6th, smoke was detected in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 passenger plane heading to Phoenix, causing the plane to return to Portland Airport. This passenger plane is the same model as the one involved in the Muan Airport accident. Additionally, on March 8th, a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 at Houston International Airport in Texas veered off the paved runway while taxiing after landing.

Following the Portland accident earlier this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ordered safety inspections on 14 Boeing 737 aircraft operated by five domestic airlines, and no safety issues were found as a result.