Plane crash in South Korea: What did the pilots say last?

South Korea is mourning the 179 people who died in the worst plane crash to occur on its soil. Now, the most important topic of discussion is the causes that led to the accident. Examinations are ongoing on the two black boxes recovered from the plane. The plane's black boxes will allow investigators to hear the pilots' final communications. However, it was stated that the flight data recorder was "found with a missing connection." The unexpected damage to the device could prolong efforts to get to the bottom of the worst aviation disaster to occur on South Korean soil.

South Korean investigators are still looking into the cause of the Jeju Air crash, which led to the deaths of all but two of the 181 people on board.

Experts have managed to extract data from one of the two "black boxes" recovered from the plane.

LANDING GEAR DID NOT DEPLOY, BUT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

The country's Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation, Joo Jong-wan, said that initial data had been retrieved from the Boeing 737-800 aircraft's cockpit voice recorder and that the contents were being converted into audio format.

Officials hope that the voice recorder, along with a second black box containing the flight data recorder, will provide important clues about the pilot's landing attempt after the plane's landing gear failed to deploy.

PLANE TURNED INTO A BALL OF FIRE

The plane, which was on a return flight from Thailand and carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, made a belly landing on the runway at Muan International Airport in the southwest of the country while a mayday call was made from the cockpit.

As the plane sped along the runway, it hit barriers and caught fire.

Everyone on the plane died, with only two flight attendants pulled from the burning wreckage at the back of the plane.

DATA IS MISSING

According to the report on NTV, Joo stated, "The initial extraction of the cockpit voice recorder has already been completed. Based on this preliminary data, we plan to start converting it into audio format."

The plane's black boxes will allow investigators to hear the pilots' final communications.

However, it was stated that the flight data recorder was "found with a missing connection."

EFFORTS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE ACCIDENT MAY BE PROLONGED

While it is not yet clear how long it will take for officials to convert the data in the voice recorder, the damage to the flight data recorder could prolong efforts to get to the bottom of the worst aviation disaster to occur on South Korean soil.

The South Korean Ministry of Transport announced that the plane's flight data recorder would be sent to the US for analysis.

Black boxes are usually located in the tail of a plane—experience shows that the tail sustains the least damage in an accident—and are designed to withstand high-speed impacts and fires.