Jeju Air Hit by Another Safety Scare Just Hours After Fatal Boeing 737-800 Crash

Jeju Air experienced another setback on Monday when a flight departing from Seoul was forced to return to the airport due to a landing gear malfunction, just a day after a deadly crash involving the airline.

On Sunday morning, a Jeju Air passenger plane with 180 people aboard burst into flames after skidding off the runway and colliding with a concrete fence at a South Korean airport. The crash, reportedly caused by a failure in the front landing gear, resulted in the tragic loss of at least 179 lives. The aircraft involved was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800.

The following day, another Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 encountered landing gear difficulties shortly after departing Gimpo Airport in Seoul on Flight 7C101 to Jeju International Airport. The pilots promptly informed the 161 passengers on board of the issue. After circling for 40 minutes, the aircraft safely returned to Gimpo Airport.

A Jeju Air representative described the return as a precautionary measure, adding that affected passengers would be compensated. “We will provide a full refund to passengers who voluntarily chose not to board the replacement flight, and we will pay compensation for the delay to passengers who completed the journey,” the official said.

Approximately 21 passengers opted out of the replacement flight due to safety concerns. The remaining passengers boarded another Boeing 737-800, the same model as the planes involved in both incidents, which departed for Jeju at 8:30 a.m.