A critical piece of evidence has been lost in the investigation into the deadly Jeju Air passenger jet crash that killed 179 people last month. The flight recorder, which contains vital data on the plane’s systems and operations, stopped recording for its final four minutes.
The black box, consisting of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, is crucial in investigations of aviation accidents. South Korean officials have been working with the US National Transportation Safety Board to gather more information about the crash.
According to authorities, the flight data for the plane’s last four minutes would be particularly important in understanding what happened during the disaster. However, officials say they do not yet know why the black box failed to record this critical period.
The investigation has already revealed that the pilot reported a “bird strike” and requested permission to circle back around to make another attempt at landing. However, it appears he did not have enough time to complete this maneuver before crashing into a concrete structure off the runway.
Experts say that damaged or waterlogged black boxes can be difficult to recover, but investigators are exploring other possibilities to piece together what happened during those four crucial minutes. The missing data adds an air of mystery to the crash, which remains one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/world/asia/jeju-air-crash-black-box.html