The Department of Transport is investigating the cause of data loss following the country's worst air crash in history.
The black boxes that store flight data and cockpit voice recorders on Jeju Air's Boeing 737-800 stopped recording approximately four minutes before the plane crash in South Korea in December, the country's Ministry of Transport announced. .
On December 29, Jeju Air flight 7C2216 was flying from Thailand to South Korea's Muan International Airport when it crashed into a concrete barrier and exploded, killing 179 of the 181 people on board.
It became the worst air accident in history on mainland South Korea.
“Analysis revealed that both CVR and FDR data were not recorded during the four minutes leading up to the collision with the localizer,” South Korea's Ministry of Transport said on Saturday, referring to the two recording devices. .
Localizers, barriers at the end of runways that help planes land, have been blamed for exacerbating the severity of the crash.
The voice recorder was initially analyzed in South Korea and sent to a National Transportation Safety Board laboratory after data was found to be missing, the ministry said.
But a box of data containing clues about the plane's final moments appears to have gone missing, and authorities are trying to figure out what happened.
“Plans are in place to investigate the cause of the data loss during the ongoing accident investigation,” the ministry said.
Shim Jae-dong, a former Ministry of Transport accident investigator, told Reuters that the discovery of the missing data was surprising and suggested that all power, including backup, may have been cut off on the plane. However, he said this was unusual.
Investigators said the box was critical to the investigation, but added they would not give up on determining the cause of the crash.
Investigators have cited bird strikes, faulty landing gear and runway barriers as possible problems.
The pilot had also warned of a bird strike before withdrawing from the initial landing and beginning the go-around.
But instead of making a complete go-about, the Boeing 737-800 made a sharp turn, approached the airport's single runway from the wrong side, and made a forced landing without deploying its landing gear.
This week, lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol told reporters that “feathers were found” in one of the recovered plane's engines, but cautioned that a bird strike would not immediately lead to engine failure. .
Authorities searched offices at Muan Airport, where the accident occurred, a regional aviation office in the southwestern city, and the Jeju Air Office in the capital Seoul.
It also banned the CEO of Jeju Air from leaving the country.
As the investigation continues, Transportation Minister Park Sang-woo tendered his resignation earlier this week, saying, “I feel a heavy responsibility for this tragedy.''
