Investigators have retrieved voice files from the cockpit-voice recorder of a crashed Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, with the aircraft’s damaged flight-data recorder (FDR) to be sent to the USA for further work.
Two hours of voice recordings have been successfully downloaded and converted to sound files, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency, quoting government officials.
The recordings will help determine conditions in the cockpit during the crash. The disaster occurred on the morning of 29 December 2024 when the jet (HL8088) exploded during a wheels-up landing at Muan airport following its operating of service 7C2216 from Bangkok.
Footage from the ground suggests the aircraft suffered an issue with its right-side CFM International CFM56 engine as it approached runway 01, perhaps due to a bird strike. The crew attempted to perform a go-around, and after declaring a mayday, conducted a high-speed, gear-up landing on runway 19, the jet exploding when it hit a wall supporting the airport’s ILS marker.
The disaster killed 179 passengers and crew, with just crew two members surviving with injuries.
On 1 January, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed that the damaged FDR will be sent to the USA, where the National Transportation Safety Board will download and analyse data from the device.
Yonhap also reports that South Korean police have conducted raids in association with the crash, with searches taking place at Muan airport, Jeju Air’s Seoul office, and the Busan Regional Office of Aviation in Muan.
Reports indicated that aircraft maintenace and airport operations materials were seized.
The search warrant lists “charges of professional negligence resulting in death.”
