According to relevant departments, a key component of the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) that could help reconstruct the most serious aviation accident in South Korea's history is missing, and the investigation into the cause of the accident that resulted in 179 deaths may be delayed as a result.

Korean investigators found two "black boxes" from the wreckage of the Jeju Air plane that exploded at Woesan International Airport on Sunday morning, one of which is the FDR, designed specifically to track parameters such as the aircraft's altitude and airspeed. A senior official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that the FDR has lost a connector connecting the Data Storage unit and the Electrical Utilities unit.

On December 30, police conducted a search in the fields near the crash site of Jeju Air flight 2216 at Woesan International Airport.

"Experts are constantly seeking ways to recover the data from the recorder," said Joo Jong-wan, the deputy minister in charge of civil aviation, at a press conference on Tuesday. He mentioned that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will address the issue "as soon as possible," but did not specify how long it would take.

Authorities have also found the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of the crashed aircraft, which recorded radio transmissions, the voices of the pilots, and engine noise. Joo noted that a joint investigative team composed of U.S. aviation officials and representatives from Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737-800 aircraft, will begin examining these two devices starting Tuesday.