Title: Jeju Air’s Boeing Blunder: Another 737-800 Flaps Its Gear
In a twist of fate that seems almost too convenient, Jeju Air has managed to headline twice in less than 48 hours with its trusty Boeing 737-800s. Just one day after a catastrophic crash at Muan International Airport, where 179 souls were claimed by what’s being dubbed “a gear malfunction” (or was it just a bird’s bad day?), another of their planes decided to throw a tantrum.
Flight 7C 101, apparently eager to not be outdone by its predecessor, reported its own landing gear issues shortly after takeoff from Gimpo, forcing it back to the tarmac like a petulant child. Passengers, probably still buzzing from the news of the previous day’s disaster, were shuffled onto another plane at 8:30 a.m., hoping for a less dramatic journey to Jeju Island.
This aircraft, also a Boeing 737-800, shares more than just a model number with the ill-fated Flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok. That flight, in a spectacular display of engineering failure or perhaps just a spectacular bird, veered off the runway, collided with a fence, and then decided to explode, because why not? The aftermath saw 179 fatalities, with only two crew members surviving to tell the tale.
The official line from Jeju Air? “The turnaround was a necessary measure for safe operation.” Oh, how very reassuring. They’re sorry for the inconvenience, but not, it seems, for the reliability of their fleet, where 39 out of 41 planes are this particular model of Boeing that seems to have a flair for the dramatic.
As for the cause, preliminary whispers hint at a three-way gear malfunction, possibly exacerbated by a bird strike. Because apparently, it’s not just mechanical failure we need to worry about, but also the avian population’s vendetta against Jeju Air.
So here we are, with Jeju Air, Boeing, and a series of events that could either be chalked up to bad luck or a stark reminder of just how thin the line is between safe travel and front-page news. Safe to say, passengers might start opting for the bus or ferry next time.
