Another Jeju Air jet experienced landing-gear issue, returned

Airplanes are parked on the tarmac at Gimpo domestic airport in Seoul on September 2, 2020. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

SEOUL – A Jeju Air flight that took off in South Korea on Monday has returned to the airport of departure due to the same landing gear issue that was found in a deadly crash involving a separate aircraft of the same model the previous day, according to industry sources.

Jeju Air Flight 7C101, which departed from Gimpo International Airport for Jeju at 6:37 a.m., detected an issue with its landing gear shortly after takeoff.

The airline informed the 161 passengers about the mechanical defect caused by the landing gear issue and subsequently returned the flight to Gimpo at 7:25 a.m.

READ: All but 2 feared dead after South Korea plane crashes with 181 aboard 

Jeju Air plans to resume operations after switching to a replacement aircraft.

Landing gear is an essential device directly related to flight safety, ensuring safe takeoffs and landings while mitigating impact during emergency landings.

In Sunday’s Jeju Air crash that claimed 179 lives in the southwestern county of Muan, it is believed that all three landing gears had failed to operate properly.

READ: What we know about Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea 

The aircraft involved in the return flight was a Boeing B737-800, the same model as the one involved in the disaster the previous day. Jeju Air operates 39 of this model out of its fleet of 41 aircraft.

First posted 9:28 am