why black boxes won’t provide any answers

SOUTH KOREA – They won’t provide any clues. There’s not much to learn from the two black boxes of the Jeju Air Boeing that crashed Dec. 29 in Muan, South Korea. In fact, they stopped recording four minutes before the accident which killed 179 of the 181 passengers, the South Korean Ministry of Transport announced this Saturday, January 11.

“Analysis revealed that the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) were not recording during the four minutes before the plane collided.” with the wall which was at the end of the runway and caused the device to disintegrate, the ministry said in a press release.

The flight data recorder stores parameters such as the speed and altitude of the aircraft, but also many other variables, thanks to numerous sensors. The cockpit voice recorder keeps the pilots’ conversations. This information normally provides more information to understand what happened before a crash.

Investigate data loss

The investigation team “undertakes to do its best to determine precisely the cause of the accident”assured the ministry, saying that “various data” had to be studied.

The authorities have planned “to investigate the cause of data loss”underlines the press release. Joint investigations between South Korean and American experts, including from Boeing, were launched after the tragedy.

This Boeing 737-800 from the South Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air, coming from Bangkok, landed on its belly at Muan airport (southwest) and crashed into the obstacle. A total of 179 passengers died. Only a flight attendant survived the crash, South Korea’s worst air disaster to date.

The trail of collision with birds studied

The avenues mentioned so far to explain the accident of Jeju Air Flight 2216 are a collision with birds and a malfunction of the landing gear. The presence at the end of the runway of the obstacle struck by the plane – a navigation aid tool installed on a mound reinforced with concrete – is also the subject of an investigation.

Before the accident, the pilot had sent a warning message regarding a collision with birds before canceling his first landing attempt. On his second try, the gear was not out.

On Tuesday, lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol told reporters that “feathers were found” in one of the plane’s engines, specifying however that a collision with a bird did not result in immediate engine failure.

“We need to determine if both engines were affected. It is certain that one of the engines suffered a collision with a bird”he continued.

Investigation and searches

Authorities conducted several searches in connection with the accident, including at Muan Airport and the Jeju Air offices in Seoul. The company’s boss, Kim E-bae, is prohibited from leaving the country.

In Parliament, rival parties formed a joint commission to shed light on this crash.

Transport Minister Park Sang-woo asked him to resign, according to his spokesperson.

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