On December 29, the Jeju Air jet tragically ended in catastrophe at Muan International Airport with 179 lives lost.
In a perplexing event, the black boxes of a Jeju Air jet ceased recording data minutes before crashing at Muan International Airport, killing 179 people, the US Sun reported.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, attempted an emergency landing when it struck a wall at the runway's end and exploded. This incident not only cost numerous lives but also raised urgent questions about the premature cessation of data recording by the flight's black boxes.
Authorities disclosed that both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder stopped processing information four minutes before the aircraft crashed. This discovery has led to widespread speculation about a potential electrical total shutdown, which experts consider an extremely rare occurrence in aviation.
Experts like Sim Jai-dong, an experienced accident investigator, commented on the anomaly. “The fact that data is missing from the key moments before the crash is surprising. It could suggest that the aircraft lost all power - including backup - which is incredibly rare,” he stated.
Earlier in the flight, the pilots had encountered a bird strike, which significantly complicated their landing approach. Following the incident, the crew issued a mayday call and initially decided to abort the landing.
The aircraft then attempted another landing maneuver without deploying the landing gear, leading to the catastrophic final moments. The proximity of the runway's concrete wall, which the airplane ultimately hit, is also under investigation for its material and placement.
Further complicating the narrative, the airline's CEO, Kim Yi-bae, assured that no prior issues were noticed with the aircraft's landing gear during pre-flight inspections, adding an element of mystery to the functionality of crucial flight components.
Following the crash, the black boxes were promptly sent to the United States National Transportation Safety Board for thorough analysis in hopes of uncovering the cause of the data recording stoppage.
This incident prompted South Korean authorities to mandate emergency safety inspections across all operational airlines particularly for Boeing 737-800 models, aiming to prevent a repeat of such calamities.
In response to the massive loss and growing public concern, grieving families have demanded an independent party to lead the investigation. They argue that the current oversight by the transport ministry may not suffice to provide the requisite levels of transparency and unbiased examination.
Aviation experts have voiced their perspectives on the multifaceted issues involved in the crash. Frank E Turney, an aviation safety expert, pointed out that the flight data alone is insufficient to conclusively determine the accident’s cause. "The flight data recorder is not going to sit there and tell you this is what caused the accident. It’s going to give you all of the underlying factual data that you can use to assess how the accident occurred," he explained.
Additionally, speculation about potential unreported onboard issues has surfaced. Aviation professor Ron Batsch commented, “It is pretty unlikely that a birdstrike alone would be sufficient to bring down an aircraft or to foresee landing gear not being operative. So it may have been, and this is only speculation, that there might have been something more sinister on board the aircraft,” suggesting a deeper inquiry may be necessary.
The distressing incident has left the international aviation community on high alert, prompting reviews and revisions of safety protocols while the world awaits the conclusive report from the ongoing investigations. As the analysis continues, the aviation world holds its breath for answers that could help prevent future tragedies of this magnitude.
