“There’s something that tastes fishy.”
This article is part of our coverage of the fatal crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.
In the latest developments investigating the devastating plane crash that took the lives of 179 people, MBC reported that the plane’s black box was malfunctioning, so there was no critical evidence of what had caused the malfunction.
On the morning of December 29, 2024, Jeju water Flight 2216, which was flying from Bangkok, Thailand to Muan, South Korea, crashed after landing on its belly and veering off the runway. At 8:59 am, the plane, which was preparing for a normal landing, issued a “Mayday” distress call. Four minutes later, the plane attempted a belly landing but collided with a concrete wall, resulting in a total disaster.
179 of 181 passengers and crew were confirmed dead in the Jeju plane crash
According to MBC, it has since been revealed that the black box did not record any data during those critical final four minutes. The US NTSB could not find any recordings in any of the devices.
The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) analyzed the intact cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and confirmed on January 4, 2025 (KST) that no recording was made in the last four minutes. On January 6, ARAIB revealed that both the damaged flight data recorder (FDR) and the CVR have been sent to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for further analysis.
– MBC
At MBC, an aviation professor Choi In Chan and other experts have suggested that the black box failure was likely due to a complete loss of power as the plane lost both engines. It was also noted that the crashed aircraft did not have emergency backup batteries installed as it was manufactured before a regulation came into force and was exempt from that requirement.
The fact that neither device recorded data suggests a problem with the electrical system that prevented both voice and flight data from being transmitted to the black box.
— Professor Jung Yoon Sik
Without critical evidence, MBC said, determining the cause of the crash is expected to take much longer, although the ARAIB has pledged that it will use other resources to continue the investigation.
Meanwhile, this news has fueled some wild conspiracy theories online.
- “AND That It doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
- “Are we sure that this is not an act of terrorism? I mean, it doesn’t make sense.
- “So the data recorded well until the last four minutes? And then it’s no longer there? What’s the point? It drives me fucking crazy.”
- “But what do you mean? It’s literally a black box.”
- “Are we sure it wasn’t canceled before it was sent to the United States?”
- “Okay, who f**ked the black box?”
- “Make it make sense.”
- “There’s something that tastes fishy.”
Read more about the Jeju Air plane crash here:
The wall involved in the Jeju plane crash was reportedly not intended to be made of concrete
