The voice and data recorders pulled from the wreckage of the Jeju Air Company jet in South Korea failed to capture the final moments before the Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing and crashed, depriving investigators of evidence to help understand the cause of the country’s deadliest aviation accident.
Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders suspended recording for the final four minutes before the plane ploughed into a structure at the end of the runway, the Korean Transport ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
As investigators look into what caused Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 to crash, the airline has come under intense government and public scrutiny for how it operates.Credit: Getty Images
A joint investigation team comprising Korean and US officials is seeking to determine what caused the devices to stop working.
The revelation is a setback for the investigative team trying to solve what led to the deadliest aviation disaster, which killed 179 out of 181 on board. Flight data recorders, commonly referred to as black boxes, are fortified devices meant to withstand even the most severe impacts, as well as fire or extended submersion. They tape key parameters of an aircraft’s performance as well as cockpit voices and sounds that support crash experts.
“This implies they were not receiving power,” said Darren Straker, a former head of air accident investigation units in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
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The Jeju Air jet heading from Bangkok to Muan International Airport in South Korea was attempting an emergency landing on December 29 when it skidded on its belly off the runway and exploded after hitting a concrete structure. The incident occurred a few minutes after the airport control tower had warned the pilot of the risk of bird strikes.
Several elements leading up to the crash remain unclear. The pilot initiated a so-called go-around after his first landing attempt, though did not make a full circle and instead was cleared to land in the other direction of the runway. It is unknown why the landing gear did not deploy, and why the cockpit crew did not extend landing flaps and slats that would have helped slow down the incoming aircraft.
One of the engines appears to have lost power in flight because of a bird strike, according to video footage, but it has not been established if the other one was also shut down, either by accident or because of bird strike.
