ID :
168514
Wed, 03/16/2011 - 04:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/168514
The shortlink copeid
Seoul mulls Boeing's help in presidential jet probe
SEOUL (Yonhap) South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae may ask the U.S. aerospace firm Boeing to participate in its ongoing probe into a maintenance problem that caused the "Korea Air Force One" to make an emergency landing, an official said Wednesday.
Concerns over the safety of the presidential jet, a Boeing 747-400 leased from Korean Air, have grown since it was forced to fly back due to a continued noise in its front part en route to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last Saturday.
On board were President Lee Myung-bak, first lady Kim Yoon-ok, his entourage and dozens of reporters. It was the first time that a plane carrying South Korea's president made an emergency landing.
The plane, code-named Korea Air Force One, resumed flight about two hours after what presidential officials described as a ventilation-related device with a minor malfunction was repaired.
As soon as the president returned from the UAE on Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae officials held a meeting on the maintenance problem.
"We agreed on the importance of an objective and thorough investigation," an official at the Presidential Security Service said. He added that Cheong Wa Dae was considering asking Boeing to help in the probe.
Cheong Wa Dae leased the aircraft, manufactured in 2001, from Korean Air, a national flag carrier, last year under a four-year contract in which the company provides crew members, maintenance and other services. The Air Force oversees the operation of the plane.
"We plan to finish the probe as early as possible and announce its results, although it is premature to talk about the exact timing," the official said.
Concerns over the safety of the presidential jet, a Boeing 747-400 leased from Korean Air, have grown since it was forced to fly back due to a continued noise in its front part en route to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last Saturday.
On board were President Lee Myung-bak, first lady Kim Yoon-ok, his entourage and dozens of reporters. It was the first time that a plane carrying South Korea's president made an emergency landing.
The plane, code-named Korea Air Force One, resumed flight about two hours after what presidential officials described as a ventilation-related device with a minor malfunction was repaired.
As soon as the president returned from the UAE on Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae officials held a meeting on the maintenance problem.
"We agreed on the importance of an objective and thorough investigation," an official at the Presidential Security Service said. He added that Cheong Wa Dae was considering asking Boeing to help in the probe.
Cheong Wa Dae leased the aircraft, manufactured in 2001, from Korean Air, a national flag carrier, last year under a four-year contract in which the company provides crew members, maintenance and other services. The Air Force oversees the operation of the plane.
"We plan to finish the probe as early as possible and announce its results, although it is premature to talk about the exact timing," the official said.
