South Korean police on Thursday raided Jeju Air's office and the operator of Muan International Airport as part of the probe into the plane crash, involving the airline, killing 179 people onboard.
Jeju Air, Boeing 7C2216, which departed the Thai capital of Bangkok for Muan in southwestern South Korea belly landed and overshot the regional airport's runway, exploding into flames after hitting an embankment.
Meanwhile, the deputy transport minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan, on Thursday said that the conversion of data from the cockpit voice recorder to audio files was completed. The data from the voice recorder is likely to provide the crucial information to what really happened during the land minutes of the flight.
As part of the ongoing investigation, South Korean police have banned Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-bae from leaving the country, the Yonhan news agency reported.
In a media briefing, director at the airline, Song Kyeong-hoon, said that the jeju Air was cooperating with the police.
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Joo also said that the ministry was still unable to provide clear details on Muan Airport's upgrade plans that had led to the addition of the structure to support the navigation system.
Joo said the ministry is checking localizer equipment at airports throughout the country.
Officials involving the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aircraft maker Boeing are conducting the probe.
The aircraft's flight data recorder, which sustained some damage, is being taken to the United States for analysis in cooperation with the NTSB.
"As there's great public concern about the same aircraft model involved in the accident, the transport ministry and relevant organisations must conduct a thorough inspection of operation, maintenance, education, and training," said South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok.
