This article is published in Aviation Daily part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Jan 20, 2025. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here.
Recovery teams working at the site of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash at Muan International Airport in Muan on Dec. 30, 2024.
Credit: JUNG YEON-JE / Contributor / Getty Images
The final 4 min. of voice and flight parameter data from the Jeju Air flight that crashed Dec. 29 was not captured on either onboard flight recorder, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said Jan. 11.
"We have confirmed that all data stopped recording on both devices," a MOLIT statement said. "We plan to determine the cause of the data not being saved."
The Boeing 737-800's damaged flight data recorder (FDR) was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington for data extraction. The cockpit voice recorder data was extracted in Seoul, but when investigators realized some data was apparently missing, they sent the device to the NTSB for further analysis.
The missing data adds complexity to investigators' efforts to understand the unusual final moments of flight 7C 2216, which made an emergency landing on its belly after a bird strike while on approach to Muan International Airport. It also adds a potentially key piece of evidence that could help investigators piece together the accident sequence.
The flight's final 4 min. started when the pilots declared a Mayday emergency they linked to a bird strike. Investigators have found bird residue in one of the engines.
The 737-800 then immediately executed a go-around and requested to land on the opposite runway heading. It touched down with its landing gear still retracted and wings not configured to slow the aircraft for landing, video of the accident shows.
The aircraft overran the runway, slid through the runway end safety area and struck an instrument landing system localizer antenna mounted on a dirt-covered concrete foundation.
The impact and fire killed 179 of 181 onboard.
South Korean investigators will return from the U.S on Jan. 13 with both recorders and the extracted data. ICAO Annex 13 guidelines stipulate that investigators submit a preliminary report to ICAO 30 days after the accident.
MOLIT said it will use other evidence to determine what happened and why. It will also work to pinpoint whether the missing data is linked to a larger issue that could help explain why the crew landed without the 737-800's landing gear deployed.
Related Content
