Boeing falls after South Korea orders B737-800 inspection

Boeing shares were down more about 2% in afternoon trading Monday, after South Korea ordered an inspection of all 737-800 planes — the model involved in a deadly Jeju Air crash over the weekend — operated by its domestic carriers.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok told the Transport Ministry to carry out an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system, while officials at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, or MOLIT, said they would conduct a “comprehensive special inspection of the B737-800.”

Uncertainty surrounds the exact circumstances of the crash, which killed 179 of 181 people who were on board the flight on Sunday. The plane landed without the correct gear deployed at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, skidded off the runway and smashed into a wall, bursting into flames. The survivors were two crew members who were pulled from the wreckage.

In a Monday briefing, MOLIT said the aircraft’s pilot had mentioned a “bird strike” a few minutes after the airport’s control tower issued a bird activity warning. The pilot also notified the control tower of a “go-around,” referring to an aborted landing attempt, and declared “Mayday,” said Yu Kyung-soo, director of aviation safety policy at MOLIT, according to an NBC News translation.

Two black boxes were retrieved from the aircraft and have been sent for analysis. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is meanwhile leading a team of U.S. investigators, including the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, to assist South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board with a probe into the crash. Engine manufacturer CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines, will also be involved in the investigation.

MOLIT officials said Monday they were reviewing the concrete wall that the aircraft hit for its connection to the accident in addition to the inspection of the 737-800s in South Korean airlines’ fleet.

The popular Boeing narrow-body aircraft has been in operation for nearly three decades, with development predating the U.S. manufacturer’s troubled 737 Max jets, a later iteration of the model. Aviation experts said it was unlikely that a design flaw played into Sunday’s crash.

The Boeing 737-800 has a strong safety record and is one of the most widely used aircraft with about 4,400 in service, equal to about 17% of the active global jet fleet, according to aviation-data firm Cirium.

It is also commonly used by South Korean low-cost carriers, MOLIT said, with Jeju Air the biggest operator with 39 jets. Other operators include T’way Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet and Air Incheon, while flag carrier Korean Air has…