Investigators have finished extracting data from one of the black boxes from the fatal Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday, South Korea’s transport ministry said.
Data from the cockpit voice recorder will now be converted into an audio file, although authorities said it will take more time to access data in another black box – the flight data recorder – which is missing a critical component.
Investigators hope the flight data and voice recorders will provide insight into the key moments leading up to the tragedy.
Some 179 people died after the plane crashed into the structure and exploded – making it the deadliest air crash on South Korean soil.
Vice Civil Aviation Minister Joo Jong-wan said investigators are now discussing the best way to decode the flight data recorder, which is currently missing a key connector.
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board have been deployed to Muan to join the investigation into the Jeju Air plane crash.
The Boeing 737-800 was traveling from Bangkok when it made an emergency landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday and skidded into a wall at the end of the runway, bursting into flames and killing all but two crew members on board.
Many questions remain unanswered, and investigators are looking at the role of bird strikes or weather conditions.
Passengers on flight 7C2216 were aged between three and 78, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s, according to the Yonhap news agency. Two Thai nationals are among the dead, and the others are believed to be South Koreans, authorities said.
It took officials days to identify the bodies using fingerprints or DNA – along with family members’ saliva samples – because many were badly mutilated.
But on Wednesday, Acting President Choi Sang-mok announced that all 179 victims on the flight had been identified.
New Year celebrations across the country were canceled or scaled back out of respect for the victims and their families, and authorities declared a seven-day period of national mourning.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae said the airline is preparing immediate compensation for the victims’ families and will cover funeral expenses.
He also said a pre-flight inspection of the plane revealed “no problems”. Investigations into the cause of the accident are still ongoing.
