According to relevant authorities, the flight data recorder (FDR) that can help restore the worst air crash in South Korea's history is missing a key component, and the investigation into the cause of the crash that killed 179 people may be delayed.
South Korean investigators have recovered two "black boxes" from the wreckage of the Jeju Air passenger plane that exploded at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning. The FDR is one of them. It is designed to track parameters such as the aircraft's altitude and airspeed. A senior official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said the FDR was missing a connector that connects the data storage unit to the power storage unit.
"Experts are constantly looking for ways to recover the data in the recorder," Joo Jong-wan, deputy minister for civil aviation, told a news conference on Tuesday. He said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism would resolve the issue "as soon as possible" but did not say how long it would take.
Authorities also found the plane's cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which recorded radio transmissions, the pilot's voice and engine noise. Joo said a joint investigation team composed of executives from U.S. aviation authorities and Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737-800 plane, will inspect the two devices starting on Tuesday.