Post by : Rameen Ariff

South Korea has taken a big step to find the full truth behind the Jeju Air crash that happened in December 2024. On Monday, the country’s parliament passed a bill to start a new and independent investigation into the deadly accident.

The crash was the worst air disaster ever on South Korean soil. It killed 179 people, leaving only two survivors from the plane.

Under the new law, an 18-member panel of lawmakers will carry out the investigation. Their job is to find out exactly what went wrong and whether any mistakes were hidden or played down during the earlier official investigation.

The panel will look closely at many possible reasons behind the Jeju Air crash. This includes whether the plane hit birds, whether there were engine or mechanical problems, and whether the airport runway was safe enough.

The accident happened when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 tried to land at Muan airport. The plane made an emergency landing without its landing wheels coming down. It went past the runway and hit a raised structure at the end of it. The plane then caught fire, killing almost everyone on board.

Earlier, a government accident board said in a January report that both engines were hit by birds. Later, in a July update, the board found something worrying. It said the left engine was turned off, even though it was less damaged than the right one and might have helped keep the plane flying.

Experts also raised concerns about the structure at the end of the runway. They said it did not meet global safety rules. Such structures are meant to break easily during a crash, but this one did not.

The new inquiry will also check whether any government agency tried to hide facts or reduce the seriousness of what was found earlier about the Jeju Air crash.

So far, the official investigation has not released its final report. Safety experts have warned that plane crashes usually happen because of many reasons, not just one mistake.

Lawmakers say this fresh probe is needed to bring full clarity, fix safety gaps, and make sure such a tragedy never happens again.

#Global News