Black boxes of crashed Jeju Air plane missing final 4 minutes of data

The black boxes of the Jeju Air Co. passenger plane involved in last month's fatal crash has been found to lack data from the final four minutes before the explosion, according to investigative authorities Saturday, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap.

According to South Korean authorities, an analysis by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the B737-800 aircraft showed that recordings stopped on both devices approximately four minutes before the aircraft collided with a localizer structure.

The explosion occurred at 9:03 a.m. on Dec. 29, when the Jeju Air flight struck a concrete mound housing localizer equipment at the end of Muan International Airport after skidding without its landing gear open.

The FDR and CVR ceased recording data starting at 8:59 a.m., making it challenging for investigators to analyze the situation.

Authorities said that while FDR and CVR data are critical for investigations, they are not the sole sources of evidence.

"The investigation involves analyzing various sources of information, including air traffic control records, video footage of the crash and debris from the site," they said.

The black box components were sent to the NTSB in Washington last week for cross-verification to ensure data reliability. South Korean investigators dispatched to the NTSB are set to return to Korea on Monday to continue their probe at home.