Characters

• Jung Jihoon (Protagonist) — Senior investigator at the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARA). He lives with the guilt of failing to uncover a mechanical failure in a past accident he investigated, wrongfully pinning the blame on the pilot. Though he strives for cool-headed and rational judgment, every time he hears the black box (CVR) audio, his past trauma resurfaces. In this Junair Flight 1329 accident, he is determined to uncover the truth unswayed by any external pressure. He constantly clashes with Park Dongsik from the manufacturer, agonizing between the late Captain Choi's honor and the facts.
• Kang Minji — A rookie investigator assisting Jung Jihoon. Passionate and principled, she respects Jihoon's investigative methods while sometimes worrying about his excessive obsession. She demonstrates exceptional skill in analyzing vast amounts of data, finding minute clues that Jihoon might miss.
• Park Dongsik — PR and external affairs executive at Korea Aircraft Manufacturing, the company that built the R811 aircraft. He stops at nothing to protect the company's profits and stock price. He manipulates the media and pressures the investigation committee to pin the accident's cause on pilot error.

Prologue preview

There is an object on an airplane commonly called the black box.

Despite its name, it is actually a highly visible, bright orange.

This is because it is built to be discovered alone even in harrowing, unsurvivable environments to bear witness to the truth.

Yet sometimes, that truth is so heavy it chokes the survivors.

An old blueprint drafted in 1992.

An R811 aircraft assembled in 2009.

And Joonair Flight 1329, which crashed yesterday.

Carrying 78 passengers and crew bound for Ulleungdo, the airliner abruptly vanished from radar yesterday afternoon.

The aircraft was shattered into pieces, and not a single survivor was found.

Not even a full day has passed since this terrible tragedy occurred.

Yet the press has already begun babbling about pilot fatigue and operational error as the causes of the crash.

The narrative is being woven before the tears of the bereaved families have even dried.

This must be the result of the invisible hand of Korea Aircraft Co., a prominent domestic aerospace company, moving swiftly behind the scenes.

I know the methods of companies like that all too well.