Jeju Air jet black boxes stopped recording before crash: transport ministry

Search operations underway by emergency personnel close to Muan Worldwide Airport, southwestern Korea, Jan. 4, following the crash of a Jeju Air passenger aircraft that killed 179. Yonhap

The black containers holding the flight knowledge and cockpit voice recorders for the crashed Jeju Air flight that left 179 folks useless stopped recording 4 minutes earlier than the catastrophe, Korea’s transport ministry mentioned Saturday.

The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan, Dec. 29, carrying 181 passengers and crew when it crash-landed with its undercarriage retracted at Muan airport and exploded in a fireball after slamming right into a concrete barrier.

It was the worst-ever aviation catastrophe on Korean soil.

„The evaluation revealed that each the CVR and FDR knowledge weren’t recording through the 4 minutes main as much as the plane’s collision with the localiser,“ the transport ministry mentioned in a press release, referring to the 2 recording units.

The localiser is a barrier on the finish of the runway that helps with plane landings and was blamed for exacerbating the crash’s severity.

The broken flight knowledge recorder had been deemed unrecoverable for knowledge extraction by Korean authorities, who despatched it to the USA for evaluation on the U.S. Nationwide Transportation Security Board laboratory.

However it seems that the containers holding clues to the flight’s last moments skilled knowledge loss, leaving the authorities looking for out what occurred by different means.

„Plans are in place to research the reason for the info loss through the ongoing accident investigation,“ the ministry mentioned.

Korean and U.S. investigators are nonetheless probing the reason for the crash, which prompted a nationwide outpouring of mourning with memorials arrange throughout the nation.

Dedicated

Investigators mentioned the containers have been essential to their probe however added they might not hand over on looking for out why the crash occurred.

„The investigation will probably be performed by the examination and evaluation of assorted knowledge. The ministry is dedicated to doing its greatest to precisely decide the reason for the accident,“ it mentioned.

Investigators have pointed to a chook strike, defective touchdown gear and the runway barrier as doable points.

The pilot warned of a chook strike earlier than pulling out of a primary touchdown, then crashed on a second try when the touchdown gear didn’t emerge.

This week, lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol advised reporters that „feathers have been discovered“ in one of many aircraft’s recovered engines, however cautioned a chook strike doesn’t result in a direct engine failure.

Authorities have raided places of work at Muan airport the place the crash passed off, a regional aviation workplace within the southwestern metropolis, and Jeju Air’s workplace within the capital Seoul.

Additionally they barred Jeju Air’s chief government from leaving the nation.

Rival events later fashioned a joint job drive to probe the crash, whereas Transport Minister Park Sang-woo supplied his resignation this week.

„Because the minister answerable for aviation security, I really feel a heavy sense of duty relating to this tragedy,“ he mentioned. (AFP)