The flight data and cockpit voice recorders of a South Korean airliner that plummeted, resulting in 179 fatalities, ceased recording four minutes prior to the incident, officials have reported.
Jeju Air 7C2216, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, was en route from Bangkok, Thailand to Muan, South Korea, on December 29 when it crash-landed, sliding off the runway into a barrier and erupting into flames.
Among the 175 passengers and six crew members aboard, only two crew members managed to survive and were extracted from the wreckage at Muan International Airport, approximately 180 miles south of Seoul.
Investigators examining the tragedy intend to ascertain the reasons behind the black boxes ceasing to record, South Korea’s transport ministry stated in a release on Saturday.
The voice recorder was initially scrutinized in South Korea. Once it was determined that data was absent, it was sent to a laboratory of the US National Transportation Safety Board, according to the ministry.
The damaged flight data recorder was similarly dispatched to the United States for examination in collaboration with the US safety authority.
Sim Jai-dong, a former investigator for the transport ministry, indicated that the detection of missing data during the vital final moments was unexpected.
He further suggested that it indicates all power—backup included—may have been interrupted, which is uncommon.
Read more from Sky News:
‘Most destructive’ fires in modern US history
UK experiences coldest January night in 15 years
Tom Holland’s father confirms son’s engagement
The pilots communicated to air traffic control that the aircraft had experienced a bird strike and declared an emergency about four minutes before crashing.
Earlier this week, lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol mentioned that feathers were located in one of the engines retrieved from the accident site.
He also noted that video evidence indicated a bird strike occurred on one of the engines.
While authorities have previously suggested that a bird strike might have contributed to the crash, the precise reason behind the failure to deploy the landing gear remains unconfirmed, as does the cause of the crash-landing.
The aircraft reportedly exploded upon impact with a concrete wall at the end of the runway, raising questions among experts about its presence.
Authorities are also probing the construction of the airfield wall that the aircraft collided with.
