SEOUL - South Korea was reeling on Monday from the loss of 179 people after a Jeju Air plane crash-landed and burst into flames, with a team of US investigators joining local authorities to probe possible causes.
The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea when it crashed on arrival Sunday, killing everyone aboard -- save two flight attendants pulled from the twisted wreckage of the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
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.
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.
Authorities said they were working to complete the identification of all victims.