It is expected to take more than a month to decode the black box, which could provide clues to determine the cause of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster that occurred at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on the 29th.
According to the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, the outer part of the Jeju Air 7C2216 flight data recorder (FDR) was partially damaged when it was retrieved. The passenger plane's black box consists of two parts: the FDR and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR).
An official from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board noted that while the CVR was recovered intact, the FDR was partially dismantled. The decoding of the FDR is expected to take a long time, possibly up to a month.
If the FDR is severely damaged, it may have to be sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the U.S. for decoding. In this case, the decoding process alone could take more than six months.
The FDR and CVR play a crucial role in determining the cause of aviation accidents.
The FDR is a device that digitally, magnetically, or numerically records and preserves the three-dimensional flight path of an aircraft and the operational status of each unit. It allows tracking of flight altitude, speed, attitude, movements of control surfaces, engine thrust, landing gear operations, and the angle of flaps (high-lift devices) deployed during landing.
The CVR records conversations between pilots, communications with cabin crew, interactions with the control tower, and various warning sounds within the cockpit. It allows for the understanding of the internal situation of the aircraft at the time of the accident.
It is known that the FDR and CVR are usually installed in the rear section of the fuselage to minimize impact in the event of a crash.