Boeing Shares Drop After Deadly Plane Crash in South Korea

Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares fell more than 4% in premarket trading on Monday after a catastrophic air accident in South Korea claimed the lives of 179 people. A Boeing 737-800 passenger plane crash-landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday.

The aircraft skidded off the runway, collided with a wall, and erupted in flames, marking it as the deadliest aviation disaster in South Korea's history.

The Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which had departed from Bangkok, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members. The plane attempted to land around 9 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), as per South Korea’s transport ministry.

The only known survivors, two crew members, were pulled from the wreckage and are currently receiving medical care. This incident marks the most severe crash involving a South Korean airline in nearly 30 years.

Jeju Air (KS:089590) shares dropped over 8% on Monday on the Korea Exchange.

Local media footage shows the Boeing 737-800 skidding along the runway without its landing gear deployed before hitting airport infrastructure and bursting into flames.

A local health official reported a man and a woman, the two survivors, were found in the tail section of the plane and are being treated for moderate to severe injuries.

Investigators are looking into potential causes, such as bird strikes or adverse weather. Airport officials suggested that a bird strike might have led to the landing gear failure.

This incident surpassed the severity of the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which killed over 200 people, as well as the 2002 Air China crash in South Korea that resulted in 129 fatalities.

Following international aviation protocols, South Korea will lead the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is sending a team of experts, along with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to support the inquiry.