Police raided the offices of Jeju Air after the crash that killed 179 people in South Korea; An airline executive has been banned from leaving the country

South Korean police raided the offices of Jeju Air and the operator of the Muan International Airport on Thursday as they conducted an investigation into the fatal crash of Boeing 737-800 which killed 179 people.

The plane was carrying 181 passengers and crew from Thailand to South Korea on Sunday when they issued a Mayday call and landed before colliding with an obstacle, killing all on board except two flight crew.

Authorities on Thursday conducted a search and seizure operation at Muan Airport where Flight 2216 crashed, the regional airline's office in the southwestern city, and Jeju Air's office in the capital Seoul, police said.

The chief executive of Jeju Air, Kim E-bae, has also been banned from leaving the country as the investigation continues, police said separately.

“The police plan to quickly find the cause and the cause of this accident in accordance with the law and regulations,” said the police in a statement sent to AFP.

At Muan Airport on Thursday, soldiers, police and investigators in white suits were still examining the crash site, as orange-robed monks held prayers nearby.

Inside the airport, the steps were covered with colorful post-it notes left by mourners.

“Honey, I missed you so much,” said one of them.

“Even if you are facing painful and painful moments in death, may you fly like a butterfly,” read another.

Relatives also left flowers and food near the crash site, including tteokguk — a rice cake soup traditionally enjoyed in South Korea on New Year's Day — as they said their goodbyes, many in tears.

Celebrity chefs featured in Netflix's megahit cooking competition show “Culinary Class Wars”, including Ahn Yu-seong, joined volunteers in Muan this week to prepare meals for the victims' families.

And people across the country have been paying for coffee at the airport cafe so that the families of the victims, who have been camping in the lounge since Sunday, waiting for the news, can drink for free.

Some bodies were removed on Thursday and taken to the families to prepare for the funeral, said the Ministry of Lands.

Officials initially pointed to a bird strike as a possible cause of the accident, and have since said that the investigation is also examining the role of the concrete barrier at the end of the road.

Dramatic video showed the plane colliding before bursting into flames.

Yonhap reported that Muan Airport was booked on charges of negligence leading to death, citing officials.

“The police found evidence related to the legitimacy of the person working in the airport area,” Yonhap said, referring to the concrete wall at the end of the runway that includes antennas.

They are also seeking records of communications between the control tower and the pilot shortly before the plane crashed, it added.

Airports across the country were being inspected for similar locations, the Ministry of Lands said in a statement.

Some experts have pointed out that the disaster may have been less deadly if the installation had not been so practical.

“The key to unlocking this mystery”

South Korea also announced it would inspect all Boeing 737-800 planes operated by its carrier, focusing on the landing gear, which appeared to be malfunctioning at the time of Sunday's crash.

South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, said Thursday that “immediate action should be taken” if that investigation finds problems with the plane's model.

Earlier, authorities said 101 planes of the same type were operated by six different airlines.

“Since there is great public concern about the same aircraft involved in the accident, the Department of Transportation and relevant agencies must carefully examine their operations, education, and training,” Choi said Thursday.

The accident is the world's worst air disaster in South Korea.

South Korean authorities have completed the release of the first data from the cockpit voice recorder, but the flight recorder was damaged and was to be sent to the United States for analysis, officials said Wednesday.

Investigators said it was not possible to identify the plane's damaged fuselage, which is missing a key connector, BBC News reported.

“I think the cockpit voice recorder, if we can read that, will be the key to solving this mystery,” Robert Sumwalt, former chairman of the NTSB, told CBS News.

Jeju Air said the crash was not caused by “any maintenance issues,” according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, and aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas told BBC News that South Korean airlines are widely regarded as following “industry best practice” and that both aircraft. and Jeju Air had an “excellent safety record.”