On December 29, 2024, we saw a horrifying accident, whereby a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashed while landing at Muan International Airport (MWX), killing 179 people. It’s the deadliest aviation accident globally since 2018, and the deadliest aviation accident on Korean soil in history. The country’s transport minister has even announced plans to resign over the incident.
An investigation into the cause of the accident was immediately launched, and there’s now a pretty major update, as flagged by Reuters. On the one hand, it’s a major setback, though on the other hand, it’s also a major clue…
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Jeju Air 737 “black box” stopped recording before crash
Airliners have “black boxes,” as they’re called (despite not being black), which contain flight data and cockpit voice recorders. These are typically crucial in piecing together the sequence of events when there’s an accident. It allows investigators to get a sense of the aircraft’s movements, the inputs pilots were making, and to hear what was being said in the cockpit.
Unfortunately there’s bad news on that front, as the flight data and cockpit voice recorder both stopped recording roughly four minutes before the aircraft hit a concrete structure at the end of the runway, which ultimately caused the plane to burst into flames.
The “black box” was first analyzed in South Korea, where investigators found some data to be missing. Then they sent the device to the National Transportation Safety Board laboratory in the United States, where the same problem was found.
This is of course a major setback for the investigation, but it’s also a crucial clue as to what may have happened.
Data stopped recording the same time as bird strike
Four minutes before the aircraft had an accident, the pilots told air traffic controllers that they had suffered a bird strike, and declared an emergency. So the timing of that coincides with when the “black boxes” stopped recording data.
The flight data and cockpit voice recorder being cut off around that time suggests that the aircraft may have lost all power, including backup power. This is incredibly rare, so that’s quite a twist in the investigation.
Up until now, one of the most bizarre aspects of the investigation has been that the aircraft seemed to be performing an emergency landing without even attempting to deploy gear, and without using spoilers. If the aircraft had a full loss of power, that would explain why.
Based on what we know about the sequence of events, around six minutes before the accident, air traffic control had warned the pilots of “bird activity,” at which point the pilots abandoned their landing attempt, and initiated a go-around. Then two minutes later, they declared an emergency, due to a bird strike.
At that point the aircraft didn’t line up to land on the same runway as initially intended, but rather took a sharp turn, and approached the runway in the other direction, whereby it had a crash landing without gear.
What a horrible and tragic situation. While we might not ever know exactly what was going on in the cockpit in the minutes before the disaster, a potential full loss of power would certainly explain a lot…
Bottom line
The Jeju Air Boeing 737 that had a crash landing in South Korea is missing data from the “black box” for the last four minutes of the flight, coinciding with when the aircraft reportedly suffered a bird strike. This is leading investigators to believe that the aircraft suffered a rare full loss of power, as that would also explain why the aircraft landed without the gear down, and also without spoilers.
While not having black box data will make it hard to know exactly what happened in the final minutes of the flight, it’s perhaps the biggest clue in the investigation so far.
It might have been a good idea to reach up and start their APU.
I don't believe it, there's a whole ton of fishyness here.
I thought the whole point of manual landing gear release is that no power or hydraulics required?
This feels like a coverup by ROK officials to save face for airline and nation’s aviation industry
For 737NG, backup battery for recorders was an option, not mandatory, and HL8088 did not opt for it. When both engines lose power, the recorders are dead as well.
It's not a coverup by ROK. NTSB's also involved.
It also takes time to extend the landing gears manually. They were too low when they lost power, and all they could do until touchdown was just turning the aircraft 180 deg.
The pilots chose...
For 737NG, backup battery for recorders was an option, not mandatory, and HL8088 did not opt for it. When both engines lose power, the recorders are dead as well.
It's not a coverup by ROK. NTSB's also involved.
It also takes time to extend the landing gears manually. They were too low when they lost power, and all they could do until touchdown was just turning the aircraft 180 deg.
The pilots chose to go-around after bird strike, and it may have been a bad decision..
It is concerning, once again, that recorders have not captured everything up to and after a major event because the two recorders either have been overwritten, the recorders were unrecoverable, or there was a power failure to the recorders.
apparently, battery backup was an option which that aircraft did not have.
The world has to come up w/ higher standards for aircraft black boxes. The technology exists.
Yes Tim, for once you actually didn't have to fluff.
A lot of things involving commercial aviation is based on obsolete 50 year old technology.
Data can be backed up analog and digitally for weeks. Batteries can last for months. Data that can transmit real time via satellite. Cameras inside outside, multiple of them. Many homes have more live feed than a modern A350-1000.
Then comes the human aspect, the biggest contributor of accidents...
Yes Tim, for once you actually didn't have to fluff.
A lot of things involving commercial aviation is based on obsolete 50 year old technology.
Data can be backed up analog and digitally for weeks. Batteries can last for months. Data that can transmit real time via satellite. Cameras inside outside, multiple of them. Many homes have more live feed than a modern A350-1000.
Then comes the human aspect, the biggest contributor of accidents are human error.
ATC and pilots can be automated.
Like Tim said, the technology exists.
Ironically, all of these technologies are even available off the shelf at RadioShack when it still existed.
The whole system is obsolete.
How many more tragedies we have to endure before we do something about it.
Recall the crash of UA232 in 1989. An engine fan failed and debris severed hydraulic lines. While maneuverability was significantly reduced, the crew had something to work with and had time to develop a strategy. Events unfolded on live TV. In the present case, given the circumstances, the crew might have chosen the textbook response practiced in the simulator . . . but there were too many contributing factors.
Hopefully the two survivors will be able to fill in the blanks.
Makes me wonder if the better decision would have been to try and attempt to land in the water similar to what US Airways did in the Hudson rather than circling back and attempting to land on a hard surface?
They really build a reinforced wall/structure at the end of the runway??? I don't care if you have a typhoon a week, that just seems murderous!