Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
The damaged flight data recorder of the Jeju Air jet that crash-landed in South Korea will be sent to the United States for analysis, and family members have begun visiting the crash site, Seoul’s Ministry of Transportation announced on Wednesday.
The recorder was recovered from the Boeing 737-800 that crashed on its belly at Muan International Airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, South Korea’s worst aviation accident. It is one of two “black boxes” For the first time in almost 30 years.
Choo Jeong-wan, vice minister of civil aviation in Seoul, told reporters on Wednesday that authorities said the black box was damaged in the crash and concluded that South Korea did not have the ability to extract the data. Previously, Zhu said the flight data recorder was missing a connector.
Once the equipment is shipped overseas, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will lead the analysis, with South Korean investigators also included. It is unclear how long this process will take.
Meanwhile, investigators are working to extract initial data from the second black box (the cockpit voice recorder) and convert its contents into audio files, Zhu said.
This procedure is carried out in South Korea and takes approximately two days. Officials hope data from both black boxes will provide important information that will help determine the cause of the disaster.
South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok said on Wednesday, “The cause of the accident will be determined through a comprehensive analysis and review of the detailed investigation of the aircraft, the airframe, and the black box.”
Authorities said they had identified all 179 people killed in the accident, but so far only 11 bodies have been handed over from temporary morgues to families to make funeral arrangements.
Families and loved ones of the passengers have been camping at the Muan airport since Sunday. On Wednesday, buses carried a group of victims’ relatives to the accident site to pay their respects.
An altar was set up at the airport, and mourners lined up to offer prayers on the first day of the new year.
The cause of the crash of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 departing from Bangkok and bound for Anan is not yet clear, and the investigation could take several months.
The pilot issued a mayday call and reported a bird strike before making the fateful emergency landing.
Video of the crash Sunday broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed that neither the rear nor the front landing gear was visible. Video showed the plane skidding on its belly at high speed and crashing into an earthen embankment, erupting in a fireball.
A possible bird strike, lack of landing gear deployment, and a concrete barrier at the end of the runway may all have contributed to the tragedy.
The Department of Transportation said 12 South Korean investigators and 10 U.S. investigators, including officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and aircraft manufacturer Boeing, are participating in the joint investigation.
