Checks find no issues with Boeing 737-800 jets in Singapore after fatal Jeju Air crash

Checks by Singapore’s authorities in the wake of the deadly Jeju Air crash in December have found no anomalies or reliability issues on the fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft here, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Wednesday (Jan 8). This is the same aircraft model as the plane that smashed into a concrete structure housing navigational equipment at the end of the runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Dec 29, 2024, killing 179 people on board. Chee told Parliament that there are no such concrete structures near runways at Singapore’s airports. All air navigation equipment located near runways here are designed to break off in the event of a collision, he noted. The minister was responding to Ang Wei Neng (West Coast GRC), who had asked about the lessons that can be learnt from the crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216, and how Singapore is preparing itself to prevent a similar occurrence. CAAS’ latest records show that there were seven B737-800 aircraft registered in Singapore as at November 2024, all of them operated by national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and inherited from its now-defunct subsidiary SilkAir. Two of these planes have since been retired, and five remain in service.<br/>