Boeing shares skid after Jeju Air 737-800 jetliner crash in South Korea

American airline manufacturer Boeing Co. shares fell nearly 5.3 per cent at the Wall Street open today due to Jeju Air's 737-800 carrier crash in South Korea on Sunday, December 29. 

Boeing Co. shares fell 5.3 per cent, at US market open, but the stock is now trading at 1.73 per lower levels at $177.71 as of 12:15 p.m. (EST) Monday's trading session, compared to $180.72 at the previous market close last week. The shares recovered some of their losses after the early trading session.

Wall Street opened lower on Monday as the markets witnessed a sell-off among big tech companies due to elevated treasury yields.

Korean officials have officially ordered a “comprehensive inspection” of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's airliners after the Jeju crash incident, reported the news agency PTI on Monday. 

The Jeju Air crash

On Sunday, December 29, a Jeju Air flight from Bangkok was attempting to land at the Muan International Airport. The first landing attempt was aborted due to unknown reasons; as the airline made a second attempt on the landing, the pilots received a bird strike warning.

As the low-cost South Korean carrier was attempting the second landing run, the pilot issued an emergency. The aircraft landed without its front landing gears, making the aircraft brush its belly against the runway tarmac. The aircraft then slid across the runway, overshooting the region and slamming into the airport perimeter wall. 

179 of the 181 souls on board died on the spot of the accident on Sunday, as the remaining two crew members were admitted to hospital in an attempt to save their lives. Both the crew members sustained serious injuries to multiple regions of their body, and one of them appeared to be disoriented while they were being examined by the doctor. 

This crash was South Korea's worst airline disaster in decades, which triggered an outpour amongst the people of the country and the world.

Another Jeju Air flight that took off in South Korea on Monday returned to the airport of departure, reportedly due to the same landing gear issue found in a deadly crash at the Muan International Airport, reported the local media portals.