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Jeju Air crash's flight data recorder off to U.S. NTSB on Monday

Published: 03 Jan. 2025, 16:22

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

An engine of Jeju Air's crashed Boeing 737-800 is transported by a crane at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure said Friday that a flight data recorder from Jeju Air’s crashed Boeing 737-800 will be shipped to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Monday.

The decision came as Korean authorities deemed decoding the recorder domestically impossible because a connector linking the unit to a power supply went missing.

On Thursday, the investigation board also finished converting recordings of the cockpit voice recorder — which taped communication between air traffic control and the pilots with safety alarms ringing inside the cockpit — into an audio file. Currently, authorities are transcribing the two-hour-long file.

A joint Korea-U.S. investigative team has also been conducting an on-site probe since early in week. The team consists of 23 personnel — 12 from Korea’s Aviation Accident Investigation Board and one from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, three from the NTSB, six from Boeing and one from GE Aerospace, the producer of the aircraft’s engines, who joined the probe team on Friday.

During a briefing on Friday afternoon, Lee Jin-cheol, chief of the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, said that the authorities are planning to “lift up” the damaged fuselage and search for undiscovered belongings and fragmented remains of victims.

When asked where would the aircraft parts would be stored, Lee said the location would be decided based on discussions between the police and the investigation board.

The Transport Ministry also extended a special inspection of all Boeing 737-800 airplanes operated by six Korean airlines to Jan. 10, while ordering all 11 Korean airlines to intensify their safety measures.

On Dec. 29, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla while landing and collided with a localizer. The crash resulted in 179 deaths and two cabin crew members injured.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]