SOUTH Korea’s transport ministry reported that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the Jeju Air flight that crashed on December 29 stopped recording approximately four minutes before the plane collided with a concrete structure at Muan airport.
Authorities investigating the disaster, which claimed 179 lives and became the deadliest crash on South Korean soil, plan to examine why the “black boxes” ceased recording.
Initially, the voice recorder was analyzed domestically, but when it was found to be missing crucial data, it was sent to a laboratory of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for further analysis.
Meanwhile, the damaged flight data recorder was sent to the U.S. for examination in collaboration with U.S. safety regulators.
The flight, Jeju Air 7C2216, had taken off from Bangkok, Thailand, headed for Muan in southwestern South Korea.
The plane belly-landed and veered off the runway, bursting into flames after hitting an embankment. Four minutes before the crash, the pilots reported a bird strike and declared an emergency.
Two crew members seated in the tail section were injured but rescued.