Officials have cited a bird strike as a likely cause of the crash, which flung passengers from the plane and left it “almost completely destroyed”, according to fire officials.
Video showed Jeju Air Flight 2216 landing on its belly at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Sunday that it would lead a team of investigators, including from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), to join officials in South Korea in probing what caused the crash. The country has a solid air safety record.
Both black boxes — the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder — have been found.
One of the flight attendants who survived was awake in hospital and able to communicate late Sunday, the Yonhap news agency reported.
“When I woke up, I had already been rescued,” the 33-year-old told doctors, according to the hospital.
He suffered multiple fractures, while the other crew member — a 25-year-old woman — injured her ankle and head, Yonhap reported.
Inside the airport terminal late Sunday, tearful family members gathered to wait for news.
An official called out the names of 65 victims who have been identified, with each name triggering fresh cries of grief.
