Investigators have finished extracting data from one of the black boxes on the ill-fated Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday, South Korea's transport ministry said.
Data from the cockpit voice recorder will now be converted to an audio file, although authorities said it would take longer to access the data in the second black box – a flight data recorder – which is missing a critical component.
Investigators hope the flight data and voice recorders will provide insight into the crucial moments that led to the tragedy.
About 179 people died after the plane crashed into a structure and exploded – making it the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.
Vice Minister of Civil Aviation Joo Jong-wan said investigators are now discussing the best way to decode the flight data recorder, which is currently missing a key connector.
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to Muan to join the investigation into the Jeju Air plane crash.
The Boeing 737-800 was traveling from Bangkok when it made an emergency landing at Mueang International Airport on Sunday and skidded into a wall at the end of the runway, bursting into flames and killing all but two crew members on board.
Many questions remain unanswered, and researchers are looking at the role of a bird strike or weather conditions.
Passengers on flight 7C2216 were aged between 3 and 78, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s, according to Yonhap news agency. Two Thai nationals were among the dead, and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, authorities said.
It took days for officials to identify the bodies through fingerprints or DNA – with saliva samples taken from family members – because many were badly damaged.
But on Wednesday, acting President Choi Sang-mok announced that all 179 victims on board the flight had now been identified.
New Year's celebrations across the country were canceled or scaled back out of respect for the victims and their families, and authorities declared a seven-day period of national mourning.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae said the airline is preparing emergency compensation for the victims' families and will cover funeral expenses.
He also said a pre-flight inspection of the plane found “no problems”. Investigations into the cause of the crash are still ongoing.