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Black box of doomed Jeju Air flight stopped recording 2 kilometers from runway, says preliminary report

Published: 27 Jan. 2025, 15:46

PARK EUN-JEE
[email protected]

Fight path image from a preliminary report on the Jeju Air crash on Dec. 29. [AVIATION AND RAILWAY ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD]

The black box of a Jeju Air aircraft behind the fatal accident on Dec. 29 stopped recording when the plane was approximately 2 kilometers from the runway at Muan International Airport, according to a preliminary report released by an investigative body on Monday.

It is the first report as part of the ongoing investigation by the Transport Ministry's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board into the deadly crash at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, which claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 people aboard the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 arriving from Bangkok, Thailand.

The preliminary findings will be submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as aviation authorities in the United States, France and Thailand, according to the transportation ministry.

The ICAO, a United Nations agency, mandates that investigators produce a preliminary report within 30 days of an aviation accident. It also encourages the release of a final report within 12 months.

The investigation committee under the transport ministry disclosed the approximate location where the black box, comprising the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR), stopped functioning.

According to the report, the black box stopped recording at 8:58:50 a.m. on Dec. 29, four minutes and seven seconds before the aircraft struck a localizer near the runway.

The ministry noted it would take several months to analyze the FDR and the CVR for further verification.

The report also disclosed details of the bird strike after analyzing DNA samples from feathers and blood stains on the aircraft, identifying the birds involved as Baikal teals.

The ministry briefed bereaved families on the preliminary findings during a meeting Saturday.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [[email protected]]