11th January 2025 – (Seoul) On 29th December, a fatal incident involving a Jeju Air flight resulted in the loss of 179 lives, marking the deadliest aviation disaster in South Korea’s history. Recent findings from the transport ministry have disclosed that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders ceased operation approximately four minutes prior to the aircraft’s collision with a concrete structure at Muan International Airport.
Authorities are now tasked with determining the reasons behind this critical data loss. Initially, the cockpit voice recorder underwent analysis in South Korea, but upon discovering missing data, it was forwarded to a laboratory operated by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for further examination. Similarly, the damaged flight data recorder has been sent to the United States for collaborative analysis with U.S. safety regulators.
The Boeing 737-800 was en route from Bangkok to Muan when it belly-landed, overshooting the runway and igniting upon impact with an embankment. Just minutes before the crash, the pilots reported a bird strike and declared an emergency. Despite being cautioned about “bird activity,” the aircraft made an abrupt turn and crash-landed without deploying its landing gear.
Sim Jai-dong, a former transport ministry accident investigator, expressed surprise at the missing data, suggesting that all power—including backup systems—might have been lost, a rare occurrence in aviation incidents. The transport ministry assured the public that all available data will be incorporated into the investigation, pledging transparency and communication with the victims’ families.
There are calls from some family members for independent experts to lead the investigation, rather than the transport ministry. The inquiry will also scrutinise the embankment’s design, questioning why it was constructed with rigid materials so close to the runway’s end, particularly since it supports the localizer system that aids aircraft landings.
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