Summary
A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashed at Muan International Airport, South Korea, killing 179 people, with only two crew members surviving. The black boxes stopped recording four minutes before the crash.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the malfunctioning black box. They suspect a bird strike, as feathers were found in one engine, and video footage confirmed a bird impact. However, the exact cause of the crash remains elusive.
Investigators are probing why the landing gear wasn’t deployed, the role of power failure in missing black box data, and the construction of the airfield wall the plane hit.
APU’s absolutely are usable in flight, and if the plane is ETOPS certified (I don’t know if Jeju is) then they even have to be able to start the APU at cruise altitude after cold soaking for 2+ hours
Good to know