Families of South Korea's Jeju Air plane crash victims file criminal complaint
Families of victims of a fiery Jeju Air plane crash have filed a criminal complaint against 15 people including South Korean government officials and airline safety representatives, according to their lawyers.
The relatives of 72 of the victims from the Jeju Air flight JC-2216 disaster on December 29 said on Tuesday that they were initiating the legal action against officials including transport minister Park Sang-woo.
They are alleging negligence in managing safety risks as well as violations of the Aviation Safety Act.
The crash at South Korea's Muan Airport killed 179 people in the country's deadliest-ever air disaster.
A statement released by lawyers of the bereaved families said a more thorough investigation was needed on the decision to attempt a return to land immediately after a bird strike, on the maintenance of the aircraft's engine, and on whether the construction of a runway embankment was appropriate.
The Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 overshot Muan Airport's runway as it made an emergency landing and crashed into an embankment containing navigation equipment known as localisers, killing all but two of the 181 passengers and crew members on board.
Except for two Thai nationals, everyone on board was South Korean.
In making the emergency landing, Flight JC-2216 did not extend its landing gear and was unable to slow down before colliding with a fence in the embankment.
Transport ministry officials confirmed after the crash that the plane's pilots told air traffic control the aircraft had suffered a bird strike shortly after the control tower warned of birds in the area.
As of New Year's Day, all remains of the victims of the crash had been formally identified.
Their bereaved families were taken to the accident site to mourn and pay their respects.
There were just two survivors from the crash — a 33-year-old flight attendant and another 25-year-old crew member.
In the wake of the crash, South Korea entered seven days of national mourning to mark the tragedy and a civil investigation was called by the country's government.
A separate investigation was launched by the US National Transportation Safety Board because the plane had been designed and built in the United States.
Reuters
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