Yonhap reported the start of special aviation inspections after the crash of a Jeju Air plane

South Korea's military began special checks of aviation after the crash of the Jeju Air plane, which killed 179 people. This was reported by Yonhap News Agency on December 31, citing official sources.

"The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 31st that it had issued instructions for the army, navy and air force to conduct their own special safety checks on all military aircraft," the publication noted.

According to the publication, the Navy command is already conducting checks on its aircraft, including P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, which were built from Boeing 737-800s. The inspections will last until Jan. 4. In July, the South Korean Navy acquired six of these aircraft to improve its anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

The air force has also begun inspections of Peace Eye long-range radar detection and control aircraft modeled after the Boeing 737-700 commercial airplane.

The pressure of altitude: what led to the crash of a passenger plane in Kazakhstan

At least 32 people survived the crash, all of whom were in the tail section of the

The crash of the Jeju Air plane while landing at Muang Airport was reported on Dec. 29. Authorities are conducting an investigation at the scene to determine the exact cause of the crash. According to the airport authority, the plane crashed on landing on the fuselage due to a landing gear failure before it could shed speed. There were 181 people on board the airliner: 175 passengers (173 South Korean citizens, two from Thailand) and six crew members, two of whom survived. The bodies of all 179 dead have been recovered.

South Korean authorities have retrieved black boxes from the plane, including the flight recorder and sound recorder. The country has declared seven days of national mourning in connection with the crash.

The New York Times noted that the plane's crew may have faced a fatal combination of factors that contributed to the crash. For example, the pilot of the plane may not have had full control of the engines and landing gear when it landed. This deprived him of his primary means of slowing down the speed of the airplane. In addition, he also failed to activate the flaps, which would have also helped reduce the speed of the airplane. The concrete structure that the airplane crashed into was also a key cause of the crash.