In a tragic incident that marked the worst plane crash on South Korean soil, a Jeju Air plane crashed in December, resulting in the loss of 179 lives. The accident occurred when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, en route from Bangkok, Thailand to Muan in southwestern South Korea, overshot the runway and exploded into flames after hitting an embankment at Muan airport. Investigators are now grappling with a puzzling development: both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders ceased recording approximately four minutes before the crash.
The investigation is being spearheaded by the South Korean transport ministry, with significant cooperation from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Initially analyzed in South Korea, the cockpit voice recorder was subsequently sent to an NTSB laboratory in the United States for further examination. The damaged flight data recorder also made its way to the US for a detailed analysis. These recorders are vital to understanding the sequence of events leading up to the crash.
In the final moments before impact, the pilots declared an emergency, citing a bird strike as a critical factor. Despite their efforts, the aircraft belly-landed and met with disaster. Fortunately, two crew members were rescued from the tail section of the plane. The sudden stoppage of data recording has left authorities perplexed, raising questions about a potential power cut-off that affected even the backup systems.
A former transport ministry accident investigator expressed surprise at the missing data, calling it an unexpected twist in the case. This discovery has prompted investigators to explore the possibility of a complete power outage as a plausible explanation. Such an outage could have disabled all systems, including those providing backup power to the recorders.
The ongoing investigation seeks to uncover not only what caused the crash but also why the black boxes stopped recording during those crucial final minutes. As authorities continue their meticulous examination, they emphasize the importance of these devices in piecing together the events that led to this catastrophic accident.