WASHINGTON: What caused Korean Air Flight 801 to go down on Guam? Federal investigators are starting to develop a clearer picture of the culprit, and it's looking more and more like the pilot. Though the feds have tons of debris and data to scour before an official judgement, NBC reports early examinations of the plane's "black boxes" (in-flight data and cockpit voice recorders) show the pilot had mistaken a hilltop landing beacon three miles from the airport for the airport itself, and that he had approached that site as if to make a landing.
The official NTSB line, though, is that it will take days, possibly weeks, to pinpoint the cause of the crash. The Boeing 747 was carrying 254 passengers including 13 Americans when it went down, ending the lives of more than 200. Earlier this week, TIME's Elaine Shannon said crash investigators had been focusing on whether the crew of the plane was unfamiliar with the route, which could have caused confusion leading to the disaster. TIME's aviation expert, Jerry Hannifin, also suggested investigators should consider the long working hours the airline imposes on its crews.