Air crash in South Korea –
Seoul to send black box from crashed Boeing to US
Since the extraction of information contained in the “damaged flight data recorder” was impossible, the black box was transferred to the United States for analysis.
Published today at 11:42 a.m.
The inspections focus on the landing gear of all Boeing 737-800s used by national airlines. That of the accident aircraft had not deployed correctly.
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South Korea will send to the United States one of the black boxes of the Boeing 737-800 which crashed three days ago in Muan, killing 179 of the 181 passengers, the vice minister said on Wednesday. aviation officer Joo Jong-wan.
Since it was impossible to extract the information contained in the “damaged flight data recorder on South Korean soil, it was decided today to transport it to the United States for analysis in collaboration” with American investigators, he said. Mr Joo explained during a briefing.
Inspections focused on landing gear
According to the director general in charge of aviation safety policy, Yoo Kyeong-soo, inspections of all Boeing 737-800s used by national airlines “focus mainly on the landing gears”, that of the crashed aircraft having “not deployed properly” before its crash.
On Sunday morning, this Boeing from the South Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air, coming from Bangkok, landed on its belly in Muan (southwest), hitting a concrete wall at the end of the runway. Under the weight of the impact, the plane bent in two and caught fire.
In total, 179 of the 181 passengers died, with only a hostess and a steward surviving this disaster, the worst air accident that South Korea has experienced on its territory.
Investigators deployed on site extracted the first data from the other black box, the one containing the conversations in the cockpit, Mr. Joo had indicated earlier.
Its study should make it possible to listen to the latest communications from the pilots.
Collision with birds
The possibility of a collision with birds was also mentioned to explain the tragedy. The Muan airport control tower had sent a warning to this effect to the crew three minutes before the crash. The pilot had sent him a distress message before the emergency landing.
Jet engines can lose power or even stop completely after sucking in a bird.
Critics, however, focus on the architecture of the airport and in particular on the presence of the solid obstacle struck by the plane, which is a guidance aid tool present at other airports in the country.
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