South Korean officials have revealed that the black boxes of a Boeing 737-800 that crashed in Muan, South Korea last month ceased recording data approximately four minutes before the tragic accident. The crash resulted in the loss of 179 lives, with only two survivors out of the 181 individuals on board.
According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's analysis, both the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) stopped functioning four minutes prior to the crash. This development has raised concerns about the complexity of the ongoing investigations into the cause of the disaster.
The fatal incident occurred when the Jeju Air-operated Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway after its landing gear failed to deploy, colliding with a concrete structure and erupting into flames. Following an initial examination of the black boxes, South Korean authorities dispatched the devices to the NTSB for further scrutiny upon discovering missing data.
While the reason for the recording failure in the final four minutes remains unclear, the South Korean Transportation Ministry emphasized the importance of the CVR and FDR data in accident investigations. The ministry expressed its commitment to exhaust all efforts to determine the root cause of the crash through comprehensive analysis of available information.
Prior to the crash, air traffic controllers had alerted the pilot about potential bird strikes, with the aircraft subsequently issuing a distress signal confirming a bird strike. The pilot then initiated an emergency landing procedure in response to the situation.
Furthermore, concerns have been raised regarding airport safety at Muan airport, with experts linking the high casualty count to the localizer system structure that the aircraft collided with during the crash. The localizer, which guides aircraft during landings, was housed in a solid concrete structure atop an elevated embankment, prompting questions about the choice of materials for its construction.
