"Sagogi Leased to Jeju Air in 2017 After Ryanair's First Flight"

At Muan International Airport, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway during landing, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dying. On the 29th, firefighters and forensic investigators were recovering the victims at the runway accident site of Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which caused a large number of casualties while landing at Muan Airport in Jeollanam-do, was initially operated by the Irish airline Ryanair and was leased to Jeju Air in 2017.

On the 29th (local time), the US daily New York Times (NYT) cited data from aviation data company Cirium, reporting that the accident aircraft (a Boeing 737-800 model) was first operated by the European airline Ryanair and was leased to Jeju Air in 2017 by the commercial aircraft leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital.

According to the NYT, out of approximately 28,000 passenger aircraft operating worldwide, about 15%, or 4,400, are Boeing 737-800 models. The Jeju Air passenger aircraft involved in the disaster while landing at Muan Airport was identified as being 15 years old.

According to Cirium, there are currently about 200 airlines worldwide operating the Boeing 737-800. In Korea, there are five airlines: Jeju Air, T'way Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet, and Korean Air. The Boeing 737-800 is a popular model mainly in Asia, Europe, and North America, and Boeing has delivered about 5,000 units of this model since 1998, the NYT reported.

There was also an opinion that although the landing gear (wheels and other landing devices) of the accident model 737-800 is very well designed, it may have been difficult to operate properly if maintenance was poor. Nazmedin Meshkati, a professor at the University of Southern California who has studied safety issues of the Boeing 737 series, told the NYT, "Maintenance is one of the most important causes of actual aviation accidents."

The NYT reported that airplane accidents occur due to multiple factors, and it can take several years to determine the cause through in-depth investigations.