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

Firefighters and rescue personnel work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after it crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, on December 29, 2024. [AFP]

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.

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.