Jeju 737 crash inquiry faces setback with final 4 minutes missing from both recorders.
Korean investigators are facing challenges in their inquiry into the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash at Muan.
Both flight recorders have failed to capture the last four minutes of the flight, hindering the investigation.
During the accident on 29 December, the aircraft overran the runway and hit a localiser while attempting a gear-up and flapless landing.
Of the 181 passengers and crew on board, only two survived.
The South Korean Ministry of Transport has reported that the cockpit-voice recorder was retrieved in an intact condition, but the flight-data recorder was found with a damaged connector.
Data from the cockpit-voice recorder was extracted, but it revealed that recording stopped four minutes before the collision.
The ministry has stated that the cause of this data loss is currently unknown.
To assist with the investigation, they sought help from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to verify and analyse the available data.
NTSB conducted its analysis between 7 and 11 January 2025.
Despite retrieving and analysing available information, both recorders failed to store data during the critical four-minute period leading up to the accident.
The ministry has indicated that the investigation will continue to seek the reasons behind the failure of the recorders.
They emphasise the importance of using multiple data sources for accident investigations and are committed to determining the cause of the crash.
