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South Korea rival parties form plane crash task force / Photo: JUNG YEON-JE - AFP
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South Korea rival parties form plane crash task force
South Korea's rival parties agreed Tuesday to form a joint task force to probe the recent Jeju Air plane crash that left 179 people dead, as the transport minister offered to resign over the tragedy.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was flying from Thailand to Muan, South Korea, on December 29 carrying 181 passengers and crew when it belly-landed at a South Korean airport and slammed into a concrete barrier in a fireball.
With the exact cause of the crash still unknown, Tuesday's unity move for a joint parliamentary task force came as transport minister Park Sang-woo offered to resign at a future date.
It also came after weeks of political turmoil, kicked off when President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law last month.
"Our People Power Party and the Democratic Party... decided to establish a special committee," the ruling PPP said in a statement sent to AFP.
It would "discuss the investigation into the causes" and provide support to grieving families of the dead, it said.
The opposition Democratic Party also confirmed to AFP it had "agreed" to form a joint probe team with the PPP to look into the accident.
The 15-member team consists of seven from the ruling party and seven from the opposition, as well as one from neither, according to the PPP.
Minister Park told reporters Tuesday he would "act appropriately" over the disaster and was "discussing the proper methods and timing".
"As the minister responsible for aviation safety, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility regarding this tragedy," he said.
The land, infrastructure and transport ministry spokesperson told AFP his comments were "the minister's offer of resignation".
- Feathers in engine -
South Korean and US investigators are still probing the cause of the crash of Jeju Air flight 2216, which prompted a national outpouring of mourning with memorials set up across the country.
Investigators have pointed to a bird strike, faulty landing gear and the runway barrier as possible issues.
The pilot warned of a bird strike before pulling out of a first landing, and then crashing on a second attempt when the landing gear did not emerge.
On Tuesday lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol told reporters that "feathers were found" in one of the plane's recovered engines, but cautioned a bird strike does not lead to an immediate engine failure.
"We need to investigate whether it affected both engines. It is certain that one engine has definitely experienced a bird strike," he said.
Authorities have raided offices at Muan airport where the crash took place, a regional aviation office in the southwestern city, and Jeju Air's office in the capital Seoul.
It has also barred Jeju Air's chief executive from leaving the country.
Jeju Air said Tuesday it plans to cut 188 international flights departing from Busan in the first quarter of the year to improve operational safety.
The announcement comes after it previously announced its plan to cut flight operations by 10 to 15 percent by March for safety reasons.
(W.Walker--TAG)
