The damaged flight data recorder from the Jeju Air passenger jet that crash-landed in South Korea will be sent to the United States for analysis, according to Seoul’s transport ministry.
The recorder is one of two “black boxes” retrieved from the Boeing 737-800 after it crash-landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people onboard, the deadliest aviation accident for South Korea in almost three decades.
The country’s deputy minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan, said initial data had been retrieved from the Boeing 737-800’s cockpit voice recorder, and that the contents were being converted into audio format.
The other black box, the flight data recorder, will now be sent to the United States for analysis.
Seoul’s deputy minister of civil aviation Joo Jong-wan told reporters on Wednesday that authorities said the black box was damaged in the crash, and concluded that South Korea is not capable of extracting the data which is also missing a crucial connector.
He said: “The damaged flight data recorder has been deemed unrecoverable for data extraction domestically.
“It was agreed today to transport it to the United States for analysis in collaboration with the US National Transportation Safety Board.”
South Korean experts will be involved in the analysis process in the US, they said, adding that they are in discussion with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on when to hand over the flight data recorder.
NTSB has deployed officials to the crash site in South Korea’s Muan county to help investigate the cause of the plane crash.
Authorities in South Korea and the US are hoping the devices will provide key clues about events leading up to the pilot’s attempt to land after the aircraft’s landing gear apparently failed to deploy or weather conditions may have played a role in the crash.
They are also examining the concrete wall at the end of the runway, which some experts say could have exacerbated the impact of the crash.
On Wednesday, acting president Choi Sang-mok announced that all 179 victims on board the flight have now been identified.
Authorities announced a seven-day period of national mourning, with several New Year’s Day celebrations across the country said to have been cancelled or scaled down out of respect for the victims and their families.
