Investigators have finished extracting data from one of the black boxes of the future Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday, the South Korean Ministry of Transport announced.
Data from the cockpit voice recorder will now be converted to an audio file, although authorities said it would take longer to access data from the second black box – a flight data recorder – which is missing a critical component.
Investigators hope flight data and voice recorders will provide insight into the crucial moments leading up to the tragedy.
Some 179 people died after the plane crashed into a structure and exploded. It was the deadliest air accident ever recorded in South Korea.
Deputy Civil Aviation Minister Joo Jong-wan said investigators were currently discussing how best to decode the flight data recorder, which is currently missing a crucial connector.
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board have been deployed to Muan to join the investigation into the Jeju Air plane crash.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was arriving from Bangkok when it crashed at Muan International Airport on Sunday and slid into a wall at the end of the runway, catching fire and killing everyone on board, except for two crew members.
Many questions remain unanswered and investigators are examining the role that a bird strike or weather conditions may have played.
Passengers on Flight 7C2216 ranged in age from three to 78, although most were between 40, 50 and 60, according to Yonhap news agency. Two Thai nationals were among the dead and the others were believed to be South Koreans, authorities said.
It took authorities several days to identify the bodies through fingerprints or DNA – along with saliva samples taken from family members – because many of them were badly damaged.
But on Wednesday, Acting President Choi Sang-mok announced that all 179 victims aboard the flight had now been identified.
New Year celebrations across the country were canceled or scaled back out of respect for the victims and their families, and authorities announced a seven-day national mourning period.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae said the airline was preparing emergency compensation for the victims’ families and would cover funeral expenses.
He also said a pre-flight inspection of the plane found “no problems.” Investigations into the causes of the accident are still ongoing.
Watch: BBC’s Jean Mackenzie examines wall near runway at South Korea plane crash site
