Crashed Navy patrol plane’s voice recorder damaged beyond repair

A cockpit voice recorder recovered from a P-3CK maritime patrol plane crash last month has been determined damaged beyond repair, the Navy said Friday, leaving investigators to rely on other evidence to determine the cause of the crash.

The Navy had earlier sent the voice recorder to a private company for data extraction after the aircraft crash in Pohang, about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 29, which killed all four crew members on board.

The company, however, notified the Navy on June 4 that it was unable to restore the data, citing the extent of the damage to the device. The Navy sent the device to the National Forensic Service for restoration but was informed Friday that it was damaged beyond repair.

A joint civilian-military investigation team is currently looking into the cause of the accident by examining other pieces of evidence, including the aircraft debris, CCTV footage of the crash, communication records and eye witness accounts, according to the Navy.

The Navy patrol plane crashed into a mountain in Pohang shortly after taking off for routine training from a nearby air base. No civilian casualties were reported.