South Korean authorities investigating the crash of a Jeju Air plane last month released a preliminary report today revealing that the plane's black boxes stopped recording approximately 2 kilometers before it touched down on the runway, Yonhap reported, quoted by BTA.
This is the first report in the investigation into the deadly accident at Muan International Airport on December 29, which killed 179 of the 181 people on board. Only two survivors.
The preliminary findings will be presented by the International Civil Aviation Organization, as well as aviation authorities in the United States, France and Thailand.
The UN's International Civil Aviation Organization requires investigators to prepare a preliminary report within 30 days of an air accident and encourages the publication of a final report within 12 months.
The South Korean Ministry of Transport's investigation committee has revealed the approximate location where the black boxes - the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder - stopped functioning.
According to the report, the black box recordings stopped four minutes and seven seconds before the plane crashed into the localizer near the runway. It also states that the exact time of impact, the number of birds involved and whether other bird species were involved are yet to be determined.