SEOUL: South Korean investigators are delving into the Jeju Air crash, the deadliest aviation disaster in the nation’s history, claiming 179 lives. On Wednesday, they announced plans to send one of the retrieved black boxes to the United States for detailed analysis.
The ill-fated Boeing 737-800, en route from Thailand to South Korea, carried 181 passengers and crew when it issued a mayday call, crash-landed, and collided with a barrier before erupting into flames. Only two flight attendants miraculously survived the inferno.
A joint effort by South Korean and US investigators, including Boeing experts, has been underway at the crash site in Muan to uncover the cause of the tragedy.
According to Joo Jong-wan, South Korea’s deputy minister for civil aviation, the damaged flight data recorder is beyond domestic recovery capabilities. “It has been decided to transport it to the US for analysis in collaboration with the National Transportation Safety Board,” he stated.
While the cockpit voice recorder has yielded preliminary data, investigators are converting it into audio to piece together the pilots’ final words. However, the flight data recorder was discovered with a missing connector, complicating efforts.
Initial theories pointed to a bird strike, but officials are now scrutinizing a concrete barrier at the runway’s edge, seen in dramatic footage of the crash. Meanwhile, a special inspection of Boeing 737-800 models operated locally is focusing on their landing gear after it failed to deploy in this instance.