The head of Jin Air Co. has quit over allegations that he forced a pilot to go ahead with a flight last year despite an engine problem.

The budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines said Kwon Hyuk-min resigned on Tuesday for personal reasons.

The resignation came four weeks after employees of Korean Air Lines claimed that the No. 1 engine of a B777-200 jet would not shut down despite a pilot's efforts to turn it off after landing at Guam on Sept. 19 last year.

This file photo shows a Jin Air B777-200 passenger jet. (Yonhap)

The plane, however, left for Incheon about 70 minutes later without addressing a major defect in the engine, according to the employees.

They claimed that Kwon, who was then the head of the maintenance center at Jin Air, pushed for the flight to go ahead by concealing problem.

However, Jin Air insisted that the engine stopped normally after landing at Guam and that fuel left in the fuel pipes may have caused some smoke.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it is investigating whether Jin Air pushed forward with the flight despite safety issues or resolved to the smoke problem. (yonhap)

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