South Korea says Jeju Air jet black boxes stopped recording before crash

FILE photo: This undated handout photo taken at an undisclosed location an released on January 1, 2025 by South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport shows the flight data recorder (FDR) retrieved from Jeju Air flight 2216 which crashed killing 179 people. The black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the crashed Jeju Air flight that left 179 people dead stopped recording four minutes before the disaster, South Korea's transport ministry said on Jan 11, 2025. - Photo by Handout / South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport / AFP)

SEOUL: The black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the crashed Jeju Air flight that left 179 people dead stopped recording four minutes before the disaster, South Korea's transport ministry said Saturday (Jan 11).

The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan, South Korea, on December 29 carrying 181 passengers and crew when it belly-landed at the Muan airport and exploded in a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.