Jeju Air Crash: Missing Component in Flight Recorder

Critical Missing Component

Authorities revealed that a key part of the flight data recorder (FDR) involved in South Korea’s deadliest plane crash is missing, which could delay the investigation into the cause of the crash that killed 179 people.

The FDR, which tracks essential flight parameters like altitude and airspeed, is one of the two black boxes retrieved from the wreckage of a Jeju Air Co. plane that exploded at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning. A senior transport ministry official confirmed that the FDR lost a connector linking the data storage unit to the power unit.

Efforts to Restore the Data

Deputy Minister for Civil Aviation, Joo Jong-wan, stated that experts are working to restore the data inside the recorder but did not clarify how long it would take. He assured that the ministry would resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Authorities have also secured the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which records communication between the pilot and control tower, as well as engine noises. A joint investigation group, including US aviation authorities and officials from Boeing, will begin reviewing both devices starting December 31.

Investigating the Cause

Investigators suspect that bird strikes might have played a role in the crash. Communication between the control tower and the pilot suggests that the tower had issued a bird-strike warning two minutes before the pilot declared an emergency. The plane crashed and exploded shortly thereafter at the end of the runway.

Korean authorities are also investigating the failure of the plane’s landing gears and whether the localizer system (used for guiding landings) was relevant to the crash.