Transport ministry is investigating the reason for the information loss following the worst-ever aviation catastrophe within the nation’s historical past.
The black packing containers holding flight knowledge and cockpit voice recorders of Jeju Air’s Boeing 737-800 jet stopped recording about 4 minutes earlier than the airplane catastrophe in South Korea in December, the nation’s transport ministry has mentioned.
Jeju Air’s Flight 7C2216 was flying from Thailand to Muan Worldwide Airport in South Korea on December 29, when it belly-landed, slammed right into a concrete barrier and exploded, killing 179 of the 181 passengers and crew.
It was the worst-ever aviation catastrophe on South Korean soil.
“The evaluation revealed that each the CVR and FDR knowledge weren’t recorded throughout the 4 minutes main as much as the plane’s collision with the localiser,” South Korea’s transport ministry mentioned on Saturday, referring to the 2 recording gadgets.
The localiser is a barrier on the finish of the runway that helps with plane landings and was blamed for exacerbating the crash’s severity.
The voice recorder was initially analysed in South Korea, and, when knowledge was discovered to be lacking, was despatched to a United States Nationwide Transportation Security Board laboratory, the ministry mentioned.
However it seems that the packing containers holding clues to the flight’s closing moments skilled knowledge loss, leaving authorities looking for out what occurred.
“Plans are in place to analyze the reason for the information loss throughout the ongoing accident investigation,” the ministry mentioned.
Sim Jai-dong, a former transport ministry accident investigator, informed Reuters information company that the invention of the lacking knowledge was stunning and instructed all energy, together with backup, could have been lower within the airplane, which is uncommon.
Investigators mentioned the packing containers have been essential to their probe however added they might not surrender on looking for out why the crash occurred.
Investigators have pointed to a fowl strike, defective touchdown gear and the runway barrier as doable points.
The pilot had additionally warned of a fowl strike earlier than pulling out of a primary touchdown and initiating a go-around.
However as a substitute of creating a full go-about, the Boeing 737-800 jet took a pointy flip and approached the airport’s single runway from the alternative finish, crash-landing with out touchdown gear deployed.
This week, lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol informed reporters that “feathers have been discovered” in one of many airplane’s recovered engines, however cautioned a fowl strike doesn’t result in a direct engine failure.
Authorities have raided places of work at Muan airport the place the crash befell, a regional aviation workplace within the southwestern metropolis, and Jeju Air’s workplace within the capital, Seoul.
Additionally they barred Jeju Air’s chief executive from leaving the country.
Because the probe continues, transport minister Park Sang-woo supplied his resignation earlier this week, saying he feels “a heavy sense of accountability relating to this tragedy”.
