Analyses of data from the flight and cockpit voice recorders salvaged from the wreckage of last month's plane crash in South Korea have found that the instruments stopped recording four minutes before the crash.

Experts suggest it is possible that the power supply inside the aircraft had stopped working.

The low cost carrier Jeju Air jet burst into flames after it belly-landed at Muan Airport in the country's southwest on December 29th, killing 179 people aboard.

South Korea's investigation board is carrying out a joint probe with the US National Transportation Safety Board.

South Korean media say the NTSB's analysis of the fight and voice recorders have found that recording had stopped four minutes before the aircraft burst into flames.

They say recording stopped after the pilot had made a Mayday call, saying there had been a bird strike to the air traffic control tower, and had told that he intended to try again.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quotes an expert as saying the recorders stopped at the almost same time due to a failure of the aircraft's electrical system, suggesting that power supply may have been cut because both engines had stopped.

The investigation board says bird feathers have been found in the remains of the engine, and is investigating how a bird strike could have affected the plane's operation.