Jeju Air Plane Crash Black Box Investigation Fails—Conspiracy Theories Spiral Online

This article is part of our coverage of Jeju Air Flight 2216's Deadly Crash. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.

In the latest development investigating the devastating plane crash that took 179 lives, MBC reported that the plane’s black box did not work, so there was no critical evidence of what caused the malfunction.

On the morning of December 29, 2024, Jeju Air Flight 2216, which was flying from Bangkok, Thailand to Muan, South Korea, crashed after landing on its belly and veering off the runway. At 8:59 AM, the plane—which had been preparing for a normal landing—issued a “Mayday” distressed call. Four minutes later, the plane attempted a belly landing but collided with a concrete wall, resulting in total disaster.

179 Of 181 Passengers And Crew Confirmed Dead In Jeju Air Plane Crash

According to MBC, it has been since revealed that the black box did not record any data during those final critical four minutes. The United States NTSB was unable to find any recordings in either of the devices.

The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) analyzed the intact cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and confirmed on January 4, 2025 (KST) that no recordings were made in the last four minutes. On January 6, ARAIB disclosed that both the damaged flight data recorder (FDR) and the CVR were sent to the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for further analysis.

— MBC

To MBC, an aviation professor Choi In Chan and other experts suggested that the black box failure is likely due to a complete loss of power when the plane lost both engines. It was also noted that the crashed plane did not have any emergency backup batteries installed as it was manufactured before a regulation was set in place and was exempt from the requirement.

The fact that neither device recorded data suggests an issue with the electrical system that prevented both voice and flight data from being transmitted to the black box.

— Professor Jung Yoon Sik

Without critical evidence, MBC claimed, determining the cause of the crash is expected to take significantly longer—though the ARAIB assured it will use other resources to continue the investigation.

Meanwhile, this news has since fueled some wild conspiracy theories online.

• “And that makes no f*cking sense.”
• “Are we sure this isn’t an act of terrorism? Like, it makes no sense.”
• “So the data recorded fine leading up to the final four minutes? And then it’s gone? How does that make sense? Blows my f*cking mind.”

• “But what do you mean? It’s literally a black box.”
• “Are we sure it wasn’t deleted before it was sent to the US?”
• “Alright, who f*cked with the black box?”
• “Make it make sense.”
• “Something smells fishy.”

Read more about the Jeju Air plane crash here:

The Wall Involved In Jeju Air Plane Crash Reportedly Not Planned To Be Concrete