Firefighters inspect the site of a deadly plane crash at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap

Aviation authorities launched an investigation, Monday, into the deadly crash of a Jeju Air plane, which claimed 179 lives the previous day, focusing on both the carrier and the aircraft model.

The investigation comes after rescue authorities recovered the bodies of all the victims from the accident site at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, the previous night. Of the 181 people aboard the flight from Bangkok to Muan, only two survived.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will conduct special inspections on all B737-800 aircraft operated by Korean carriers.

The decision follows the discovery that the plane's landing gears malfunctioned, presumably due to a bird strike, along with suspicions of a potential engine problem. The possibility of technical issues intensified after another plane of the same model, operated by the same carrier, experienced a landing gear issue on Monday morning and returned to its departure point.

"Korean carriers operate 101 planes of this model and we are planning to conduct special inspections on them," Joo Jong-wan, head of the ministry's aviation policy, said in a media briefing at the Government Complex Sejong.

"We'll examine their utilization rates and check if carriers are following various relevant regulations such as checkup and maintenance before and after operation."

The model is operated by low-cost carriers here. Jeju Air has 39 B737-800 planes, followed by T'way Air with 27, Jin Air with 19, Eastar Jet with 10, Air Incheon with four, and Korean Air with two.

Joo Jong-wan, left, head of the aviation policy office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, speaks during a briefing at Government Complex Sejong, Monday. Yonhap

The ministry said it will also conduct a safety inspection of Jeju Air to ensure the airline has complied with regulations.

"It is backed by data that Jeju Air has a higher utilization rate of aircraft than others," Joo said. "An intensive safety inspection will be carried out."

The flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were retrieved from the scene of the crash and the ministry plans to transfer them to an analysis center in Seoul.

The ministry noted that the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, will participate in the investigation, while CFMI, which made the CFM 56-7B26 engines, is in talks to take part.

Meanwhile, the ministry explained that the concrete wall facility near the runway, which has been pointed out as a factor that increased the damage when the plane collided with it, is also installed at other domestic airports.

"Muan airport has a localizer installed about 251 meters away from the end of the runway," Joo said.

The structure is designed to guide aircraft during their landing on the runway.

The structure typically has concrete foundations, with antennas standing atop earthen hills. In response to claims that the structure at Muan Airport violated regulations regarding the materials used to build it, the ministry plans to review the facility's installation regulations and assess their connection to the accident.

A passenger looks at a Jeju Air aircraft getting ready to take off at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Regarding the accident, Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operation system.

"The government is doing its utmost to establish cooperation between related agencies," Choi said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the Government Complex Seoul.

He asked the ministry and the National Police Agency to conduct a strict investigation into the cause of the accident.

"Even before the final results are out, we ask that officials transparently disclose the accident investigation process and promptly inform the bereaved families," he said.

"As soon as the accident recovery is finished, the transport ministry will conduct an emergency safety inspection of the entire aircraft operation system to prevent a recurrence of airplane accidents," he said.

Meanwhile, the rescue authorities identified more than 140 of the 179 victims after an overnight investigation.

Eleven out of 179 victims were elementary, middle, and high school students, according to the Ministry of Education.

The bereaved families formed a coalition to respond to the disaster and recovery efforts, similar to the family groups organized after the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking, which killed more than 300 people, and the 2022 Itaewon disaster, which claimed 159 lives.

The group announced the suspension of all funeral procedures until both the recovery and identification of the bodies are completed.

Memorial altars have been set up at dozens of locations across the country to mourn the victims. The government designated a national mourning period through Saturday midnight.

A bereaved family member of a victim of the Jeju Air plane crash cries in front of a joint memorial altar set up in Muan, South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap