Shares of Boeing slide after South Korea plane crash

(NEW YORK) — Shares of Boeing fell in early trading on Monday, one day after a Boeing model 737-800 was involved in the Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea that killed scores of passengers.

The stock price dropped more than 4% at the open of trading on Monday morning. The slide came hours after South Korea’s transportation ministry announced it would investigate the crash and conduct a full inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft in use in South Korea.

All but two of the 181 people on board died Sunday in what authorities said was the deadliest plane crash in South Korea in decades.

The only survivors, a man and a woman, were among the six crew members onboard the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 when it skidded along a runway, crashed into a wall and burst into flames on Sunday morning, officials said.

In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Boeing said the company had established communication with Jeju Air about the incident.

“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”

Boeing did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Jeju Air said it would not suspend operations of its 737-800 aircraft.

“There are no plans to suspend operations, but they will examine those parts once more and check them thoroughly during the inspection process,” said Song Kyung-hoon, head of Jeju Air’s Management Support Division.

As the aircraft approached South Korea’s Muan International Airport at 8:54 a.m. local time, the control tower gave it permission to land on a south-to-north runway, according to an official timeline by the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.

Three minutes later, the flight control tower issued a warning of a possible bird strike, the transport ministry said. About two minutes after that warning, a pilot sent a distress signal, saying, “Mayday, mayday, mayday, bird strike, bird strike, going around,” the ministry said.

An official cause of the crash is under investigation by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board.

The fatal crash and ensuing stock slide mark the latest setback for Boeing, which sought to put a series of scandals behind it last month when it struck a deal with a union representing thousands of West Coast factory workers, who had undertaken a seven-week strike.

The labor action began days after Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth without its crew due to mechanical issues, and months after a door plug blew out of the company’s 737 Max 9 aircraft mid-flight, which itself happened five years after Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft were first grounded worldwide following a pair of tragic crashes.

The losses for Boeing on Monday coincided with a broader decline in the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 700 points in early trading, dropping the index about 1.5%.

The S&P 500 slid 1.5% in early trading on Monday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq also declined 1.5%.

ABC News’ Joohee Cho and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.

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