Investigators share new update into South Korea plane crash with both black boxes recovered – as bereaved relatives gather at the site [Video]

04:40 EST 01 Jan 2025, updated 06:12 EST 01 Jan 2025

South Korean investigators probing the Jeju Air crash which killed 179 people have announced they will be sending a black box retrieved from the flight to the US for analysis.  

The plane was carrying 181 people from Thailand on Sunday when it issued a mayday call and belly-landed before hitting a barrier and bursting into flames, killing everyone aboard except two flight attendants pulled from the burning wreckage.

South Korean and US investigators, including from Boeing, have been combing the crash site in southwestern Muan since the disaster Sunday.

‘The damaged flight data recorder has been deemed unrecoverable for data extraction domestically,’ said South Korea‘s deputy minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan.

‘It was agreed today to transport it to the United States for analysis in collaboration with the US National Transportation Safety Board.’

Joo earlier said both of the plane’s black boxes were retrieved, and for the cockpit …