The fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the fuselage, is seen during its investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Portland, Oregon, U.S., Jan. 7. Reuters-Yonhap

Korean Air, Korea's largest air carrier, plans to conduct safety checks on its Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, industry sources said Wednesday, following a recommendation by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for operators to conduct safety checks.

The airline plans to conduct a special inspection to check whether the door plugs of its six 737-900ER units are properly secured. Korean Air is the only Korean airline that operates the model in question.

The decision came after the FAA on Sunday advised operators of Boeing 737-900ER planes to inspect the door plugs after a Boeing 737 Max 9 unit carrying 177 passengers in the U.S. made an emergency landing due to a cabin panel blowout earlier this month.

According to the FAA, the two models are equipped with the same type of door plug.

A Korean Air official said the company has regularly conducted comprehensive safety inspections of its 737-900ER units, while adding that no safety-related issues were identified. (Yonhap)