Black box data missing four minutes before Muan airport crash

Black box data missing four minutes before Muan airport crash. January. 13, 2025 08:30. by 이축복기자 [email protected].

The black box recorder installed in the Jeju Air aircraft that crashed in Muan Airport stopped recording around four minutes before the crash. This not only fails to capture the pilots' conversations at the most urgent moment but also flight records containing the plane's speed and altitude. It was also revealed that there had been no power auxiliary device to supply power to the black box in a power supply interruption (shutdown) situation. There are growing concerns that the absence of such records will make it difficult to determine the cause of the accident.

"After analyzing the data in the presence of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator in Washington, D.C., the U.S., it was confirmed that the voice recorder (CVR) and flight recording device (FDR) had not been working for four minutes before the accident occurred. We will investigate why both black boxes (CVR and FDR) stopped working," said an official with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation and Railroad Accident Investigation Committee.

The black box failure suggests a higher chance of the plane being shut down, with the engine power supply cut off. Thus, it is necessary to determine whether the bird collision caused the shutdown.

Experts express regret over the absence of a black box power auxiliary device. Regulations introduced in 2018 mandate that aircraft be equipped with a power auxiliary device, which supplies power to the black box in shutdown situations. Unfortunately, the plane was introduced in 2017 and was not subject to this regulation.