The incident, believed to have been caused by a landing gear malfunction, resulted in the plane hitting the runway and crashing into a concrete wall before catching fire.
Among the 181 individuals on the aircraft, only two crew members made it out alive.
An aviation specialist has suggested that the absence of the concrete wall might have led to more survivors.
David Learmount, the operations and safety editor at Flight International magazine, expressed to Sky News: “Not only is there no justification [for the wall to be there], I think it’s verging on criminal to have it there.”
“That kind of structure should not be there. That is awful. That is unbelievably awful.”
He further remarked: “He [the pilot] has brought it down beautifully given the circumstances, they are going very fast but the plane is still intact as it slides along the ground.”
Reports have surfaced regarding the first words of one of the survivors.
The survivor, identified by the surname Lee, a 33-year-old, was taken to Ewha Women’s University Hospital in Seoul for treatment following the crash. Upon regaining consciousness, he reportedly asked, ‘what happened?’ and ‘why am I here?’, according to Mail Online.
Although Lee survived, he sustained multiple fractures, including broken ribs and severe spinal injuries, which might put him at risk of paralysis, as reported by The Mirror.
As per Yonhap News Agency, hospital director Ju Woong mentioned that Lee also informed doctors (via NBC News): “When I woke up, I had already been rescued.”
She added that while he was in intensive care, he was able to communicate effectively and had shown ‘no indication yet of memory loss or such’.
The second survivor, a 25-year-old female cabin crew member, is receiving treatment at the same hospital for ‘scalp lacerations and ankle fracture’, according to a hospital official speaking to local media.
She is also receiving ‘treatment for abdominal diagnosis’ and is anticipated to fully recover.
Less than a day after the crash, another Jeju Air flight had to return due to what appeared to be another landing gear-related issue.
During a news conference, Song Kyung-hoon, head of the management support office at Jeju Air, explained, as reported by The Economic Times: “Shortly after takeoff, a signal indicating a landing gear issue was detected on the aircraft’s monitoring system.”
“At 6:57am, the captain communicated with ground control, and after taking additional measures, the landing gear returned to normal operation.”
“However, the decision was made to return to the airport for a thorough inspection of the aircraft.”
In response to the crash, South Korean authorities have initiated an investigation into the safety procedures of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the nation’s airlines.