On December 30, the Financial Associated Press reported (editor Ma Lan) that two major aviation disasters occurred consecutively last week, first with the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on December 25, resulting in dozens of deaths. Subsequently, on Sunday morning last week, a Boeing plane from South Korea's Jeju Airlines stalled and crashed on the runway, resulting in the deaths of all 181 passengers on board, except for two crew members.

The accident in South Korea is also one of the worst aviation disasters globally in nearly a decade and is the deadliest aviation accident in South Korea's history, with the death toll exceeding that of the China International Airlines crash near Busan in 2002 (which caused 129 deaths).

According to accident investigators, the current focus is on investigating bird strike incidents and the landing gear failure at the final moments of the flight. Although the aircraft was almost completely destroyed due to the crash explosion, investigators have recovered two black boxes from the aircraft, one of which, though damaged, can supplement the accident details through extended analysis.

Among the footage, one shows that an engine apparently shut down during the emergency landing. Another piece of footage shows that the aircraft appeared to be basically intact while entering the airport and taxiing at high speed down the runway until it hit the embankment.

However, after last Sunday's accident, another Boeing plane of the same model from South Korea reported landing gear failure on Monday; fortunately, that aircraft successfully returned without any injuries. It is reported that the South Korean government is considering conducting special inspections on all Boeing planes of the same model.

Still Boeing.

South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-mok announced a week of national mourning for the aviation disaster. This coincides with turmoil in the South Korean government, as President Yoon Suk-yeol suddenly declared martial law earlier this month, sparking protests from both the ruling and opposition parties, leading to his impeachment and removal. Currently, South Korea has yet to clarify its political situation before facing another piece of bad news.

The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport stated that emergency teams, including police, military, coast guard, and local government personnel, are assisting with the crash site, and the airport runway where the incident occurred will remain closed for the next few days.

The aircraft involved in the accident in South Korea is a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane, the predecessor to its latest Max model, which is considered a reliable Block Orders model and has consistently performed well during routine maintenance inspections. Currently, there are over 4,000 similar aircraft in operation globally.

Investigators say it is still too early to speculate on the cause of the crash; the engine failure may be related to a bird strike in the air, but it is not fatal, as the plane can operate on a single engine for a period of time. Additionally, the reason why the aircraft's landing gear did not deploy is still under investigation; it is unclear whether this is related to the bird strike reported by the cockpit and control tower before landing.

It is reported that the flight's pilot is an experienced captain with nearly 7,000 hours of flight experience. He issued a distress signal a few minutes after the bird strike warning and aborted the first landing attempt, initiating a go-around. During the second landing attempt, he changed the runway direction, and officials stated that the length of this runway is unlikely to have caused the crash.

Boeing responded after the incident, stating that they had contacted Jeju Air and would provide all support. Boeing is expected to send experts to the crash site to assist with the investigation.

However, this will still deal a new blow to Boeing's already precarious reputation. Earlier this year, a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet from Alaska Air had a door explode in flight; although there were no casualties, the incident led to deep skepticism about Boeing's quality.

Unexpectedly, by the end of 2024, Boeing's aircraft is once again in the spotlight, casting a shadow over the company's prospects for 2025.