Korean air carriers ordered to inspect safety of Boeing fleets

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has ordered South Korean airlines to carry out safety checks on their Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, according to the ministry on Monday.

The order came as a preemptive measure following an emergency landing on Friday of an Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737 Max 9 jet in Portland, Oregon.

Alaska Airlines' B737 Max 9 bound for Ontario, California, was carrying 171 passengers. The aircraft made an emergency landing due to a cabin panel blowout. Some passengers suffered minor injuries due to the incident.

According to the ministry, local air carriers currently do not have the same Boeing 737 Max 9 jets in their fleet. But, five companies -- including Korean Air, Eastar Jet, T'way Air, Jeju Air, and Jin Air -- have a total of 14 B737 Max 8 jets.

"The B737 Max 9 and Max 8 are two different aircraft, but the government decided to take a preemptive measure to prevent any similar incident," an official from the ministry said.

The ministry has ordered the five companies to check whether their B737 Max 8 jets' fuselage has no structural defects, and if the door is properly attached to the fuselage, the official added.