SEOUL – South Korea’s Ministry of Transport revealed on January 11 that both black boxes—the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR)—of the Jeju Air flight that crashed on December 29 last year stopped recording approximately four minutes before the aircraft collided with a concrete barrier at the end of Muan International Airport’s runway.
The crash, which claimed 179 lives, is the deadliest aviation disaster in South Korea’s history. Investigators are working to determine why the black boxes ceased recording. Preliminary analysis of the CVR in South Korea revealed missing data, prompting further examination at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) laboratory. The damaged FDR was also sent to the U.S. for detailed analysis in collaboration with U.S. aviation safety regulators.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 departed from Bangkok to Muan in southwest South Korea. The plane skidded along the runway during landing, overshot the strip, and struck a concrete barrier, causing an explosion. The pilot reported a bird strike and declared an emergency four minutes before the crash. Two crew members seated at the rear of the aircraft were rescued and survived.
