SEOUL: South Korean investigators mentioned on Saturday (Jan 4) they have been near finalizing a cockpit voice recorder transcript of a lethal aircraft crash that killed 179 folks final week.
The recording might maintain clues to the ultimate moments of Jeju Air Flight 2216, which was carrying 181 passengers and crew from Thailand to South Korea on Sunday when it landed on its abdomen earlier than crashing right into a concrete barrier on the finish of the airport’s runway.
South Korean and US investigators, together with from aircraft maker Boeing, have been combing the crash website in southwest Muan because the catastrophe to ascertain the trigger.
“The transcription of the cockpit voice recorder is anticipated to be accomplished in the present day, and the flight information recorder is within the technique of being ready for transport to the United States” for evaluation, the Ministry of Earth Affairs mentioned in a press release. South Korea.
Investigators additionally recovered the aircraft’s engine from the crash website this week, the ministry added.
The actual reason for the Boeing 737-800 crash remains to be unknown, however investigators have pointed to a hen strike, defective touchdown gear and runway barrier as attainable issues.
Authorities this week carried out search and seizure operations at Muan airport, the place the flight crashed, at a regional aviation workplace within the southwestern metropolis, and at Jeju Air’s workplace within the capital Seoul, he mentioned the police.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae has been banned from leaving the nation whereas the investigation continues, police additionally mentioned.
The pilot warned of a hen strike earlier than retreating from an preliminary touchdown, solely to crash on the second try when the touchdown gear didn’t emerge.
Dramatic video confirmed the aircraft colliding with the concrete barrier on the finish of the runway earlier than bursting into flames.
Authorities started lifting the wreckage of the aircraft and returning a number of the recognized victims’ our bodies and private belongings recovered from the crash website to grieving households.
The aircraft was principally carrying South Korean vacationers coming back from year-end journeys to Bangkok, besides for 2 Thai passengers.
Local media photos present authorities handing over gadgets together with smartphones, dried mangoes and coconuts from Thailand.
