South Korea Plane Crash: Black Boxes Mysteriously Fail to Capture Final 4 Minutes, Officials Reveal

SEOUL, South Korea — The investigation into the tragic crash of a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air, which claimed 179 lives on December 29, is facing challenges. Officials reported that the flight’s black boxes ceased recording approximately four minutes prior to the accident. This data gap complicates efforts to determine the precise cause of the disaster.

According to the South Korean Transportation Ministry, both the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) stopped functioning just before the aircraft skidded off the runway at Muan Airport. Subsequent investigations by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed this finding.

During its landing approach, the aircraft reportedly experienced a critical failure when its landing gear did not deploy properly, leading to a crash into a concrete structure. This incident resulted in fatalities among nearly all aboard, with only two survivors reported.

Following the initial analysis of the black boxes, South Korean authorities dispatched them to the NTSB for further evaluation due to the missing data. The transport ministry acknowledged that the absence of information for the last four minutes raises significant questions, stating, “We plan to do our utmost to determine the cause of the accident.”

In a preliminary investigation, air traffic controllers had warned the pilot of potential bird strikes just two minutes before an emergency signal indicated an incident involving birds. The pilot attempted to make an emergency landing shortly thereafter.

Officials have also highlighted concerns regarding Muan Airport’s localizer system, which might have contributed to the high fatality rate. The structure, meant to assist aircraft during landing, was made of concrete and positioned on an elevated embankment. This has sparked discussions about whether alternative materials could have reduced the severity of impact and casualties.