[News Today] JEJU AIR BLACK BOX DATA MISSING

[LEAD]
The Aviation & Railway Accident Investigation Committee reports that the Jeju Air aircraft's black box stopped recording voice and flight data four minutes before the crash. This missing evidence may prolong the investigation.

[REPORT]
At 8:59 a.m., the pilot of the ill-fated Jeju Air flight called out "Mayday" and mentioned a bird strike and a go-around.

This was the exact time when the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder last stored data.

The following four minutes, until the plane crashed into the localizer at 9:03 a.m., were not recorded.

It is not yet known whether or not the "mayday" call was captured.

The CVR contains conversations between the pilots, while the FDR provides data on the aircraft’s engine and system operations.

They give key evidence for knowing the sequence of events from the go-around to the crash.

After completing the transcript of the CVR recording, the committee looking into the accident found that four minutes of data before the collision were missing.

So, it sent both devices to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which confirmed the missing four minutes of data.

One suspected cause is that a bird strike damaged both engines, cutting power to the black box and stopping the recording.

However, despite the engines' failure, the data would not be missing if emergency backup batteries supplied power.

Prof. Ko Seung-hee / Dept. of Aviation Operations, Silla Univ.
It’s crucial to recheck whether the plane's battery functioned properly through
pre- and post-flight inspections and verify its maintenance records.

The investigation committee says it will determine the exact cause by investigating whether power supply was entirely cut off or if there was an issue with the backup battery.

The committee initially planned to determine the cause using black box data, control tower records, and on-site investigations. However, concerns are rising that the probe could be prolonged.