Investigators at the Air crash site of the Air India Express plane that overshot the runway in southern. Mangalore Air crash killing 158 people said on Tuesday they had recovered the "black box" or digital flight data recorder. A relieved search team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and local police displayed the FDR, which was black due to fire and smoke."It's intact," a DGCA official said as he held the battered recorder aloft.
The box is a vital missing link to the last couple of minutes of Air India Express' descent into Bajpe airport in Mangalore. They did not give the exact location of where the device was found. It will provide clues for possible causes of the worst air disaster in over a decade and will be taken to Delhi for analysis.
The team late on Sunday recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and a part of the black box containing the digital flight data acquisition unit (DFDAU). One device digitally records all conversations inside the cockpit and those with the air traffic controllers. The other has the history of the aircraft's flight details, such as acceleration, engine thrust, airspeed, altitude, rudder position, which are also vital for crash probes. Police said 22 bodies are yet to be identified and DNA tests will be conducted. Forensic experts from Hyderabad have taken samples necessary for the DNA test from family members. Results of the tests will be known in about a week.
The box is a vital missing link to the last couple of minutes of Air India Express' descent into Bajpe airport in Mangalore. They did not give the exact location of where the device was found. It will provide clues for possible causes of the worst air disaster in over a decade and will be taken to Delhi for analysis.
The team late on Sunday recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and a part of the black box containing the digital flight data acquisition unit (DFDAU). One device digitally records all conversations inside the cockpit and those with the air traffic controllers. The other has the history of the aircraft's flight details, such as acceleration, engine thrust, airspeed, altitude, rudder position, which are also vital for crash probes. Police said 22 bodies are yet to be identified and DNA tests will be conducted. Forensic experts from Hyderabad have taken samples necessary for the DNA test from family members. Results of the tests will be known in about a week.
"Analysis of CVR and flight data will be conducted in the next fortnight. Similarly, analysis of records pertaining to the crash will take a couple of weeks," a probe official said. Flight IX 812 burst into flames after falling over a cliff early Saturday and most of the 158 victims, including 19 children and four infants, were burnt to death. The Boeing overshot the runway while landing at Bajpe airport, about 20 km from here.
All six crew members othe flight also perished in the disaster. Eight passengers survived and are being treated for their injuries in various hospitals in the city.
