The black boxes from the Jeju Air Co. passenger plane that crashed last month have been found to lack crucial data from the final four minutes before the explosion, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korean investigators.
An analysis conducted by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that both the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the B737-800 aircraft stopped recording approximately four minutes before the plane’s collision
with a localizer structure.
The crash occurred at 9:03 am on December 29, when the Jeju Air flight struck a concrete mound housing localizer equipment at the end of Muan International Airport after skidding without deploying its landing gear. The black boxes stopped recording at 8:59 am, making it difficult for investigators to fully assess the events leading up to the crash.
Authorities said that while FDR and CVR data are critical for investigations, they are not the sole sources of evidence. “The investigation involves analyzing various sources of information, including air traffic control records, video footage of the crash and debris from the site,” the officials said, Yonhap reported.
The black box components were sent to the NTSB last week. South Korean investigators who participated in the analysis are expected to return on Monday to continue the investigation.
South Korean authorities had confirmed that 179 people were killed and two people were rescued out of 181 aboard following a plane crash in South Korea’s Muan region.
