South Korea parliament passes bill to launch probe into 2024 Jeju Air crash

South Korea's parliament passed a bill on Monday to launch an independent probe into the Jeju Air plane crash in December 2024 that killed 179 people in the deadliest air disaster on the country's soil.



A panel made up of 18 members of parliament will investigate the possible causes of the crash, including whether enough was done against the risk of a bird strike, any engine or mechanical failures and an embankment that the plane struck at the end of the runway.



The inquiry will also investigate whether government agencies tried to cover up or downplay anything that was found during the official investigation, according to the bill.



A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 made a belly-landing at Muan airport without its landing gear down after an aborted landing, overshot the runway and slammed into an embankment, killing all but two of the 181 people on board as it erupted in a fireball.



An investigation by the government-led Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board had yet to produce a final report. It said in an interim report in January that the aircraft's two engines sustained bird strikes.