The joint investigation team from the United States and South Korea, investigating the cause of the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport, has been reinforced. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 1st, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which leads the U.S. investigation team, sent two additional Boeing representatives to the Muan site. The number of U.S. investigators has increased to a total of 10, including three from the NTSB, one from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and six from Boeing. These individuals are known to be experts in piloting, traffic control, and maintenance.
The size of the Ministry of Land investigation team on site, from the Air and Railway Accident Investigation Committee, has also increased from 11 to 12 members.
The head of the investigation team (IIC), overseeing the investigation, is a researcher from the Air Accident Investigation Team on the Korean side.
There remains a possibility for additional investigators to be added in the future. Yoo Kyung-soo, aviation safety policy officer from the Ministry of Land, noted, "If more personnel are needed as the investigation progresses, experts from each field could be added."
Some reports suggest that CFMI, the U.S.-France joint engine manufacturer of the accident aircraft, may also send additional investigation personnel.
The joint investigation team has set up a temporary headquarters at Muan Airport to conduct the on-site investigation. Starting today, they began visual inspections of the engine and fuselage debris, feathers, and bloodstains for signs of bird strikes.
Reports indicate that the investigation team is focusing on examining the engine section of the accident aircraft to find clues to the cause of the accident.
The joint investigation team, which began its first on-site investigation the day before, initially examined the localizer facility within the airport that was involved in the collision leading to the accident.
Following the on-site investigation, the team plans to analyze the so-called black box, flight data recorder (FDR), and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) retrieved from the aircraft debris.
The CVR file extraction has been completed, and the process of converting it into a voice file format is underway.
For the FDR, which was found without the connector, experts are reviewing the method of data extraction.