Firefighters involved in the search found the flight recorder on a mountain slope about 40 meters (130 feet) from the point of impact and 1.5 meters (five feet) below the ground, state media reported. Experts confirmed that it was the second black box. The impact of the crash created a 20-meter-deep pit on the mountain slope and widely scattered the debris.
The researchers were searching for the data recorder after finding the voice recorder in the cockpit four days ago. The two black boxes will help researchers determine what caused the plane to fall from 29,000 feet (8,800 meters) about an hour after the flight and just before it began to land.
The remote environment and rain and mud conditions have complicated the search for black boxes and debris. Images posted by CGTN, the international arm of CCTV, showed an official holding an orange cylindrical object in the hotel area with the words “FLIGHT RECORDER” and “DO NOT OPEN” on it. It looked slightly sunken but intact.
The search was halted on Sunday afternoon for a three-minute silence for the 123 passengers and nine crew members. Emergency workers took off their helmets and police and soldiers took off their caps. Standing in groups, they bowed their heads as the sirens sounded.
Flight MU5735 crashed Monday en route from Kunming in southeastern China to Guangzhou, a major city and export hub near Hong Kong. An air traffic controller tried to contact the pilots several times after seeing the plane’s altitude fall sharply but received no response, officials said.
The cockpit voice recorder, also an orange cylinder, was found two days later on Wednesday. It was sent to a Beijing lab for testing and analysis, and the flight data recorder was also sent to the Chinese capital for decoding.
Search engines have been combing the site outside Wuzhou for days with shovels and other hand tools. Construction excavators have been introduced to remove soil and clear wider passages to the site, while pumps are used to drain the collected water from the rain. Officials said monitors had been set up to detect possible landslides from the rain and research activity that could endanger workers.
Officials announced late Saturday that there were no survivors. DNA analysis confirmed the identities of 120 of the passengers, they said. Investigators found IDs and bank cards belonging to the victims.
Boeing Co. said in a statement that a Boeing technical team is supporting the US National Transportation Security Council and China Civil Aviation Administration, which will lead the crash investigation.
China Eastern, one of China’s four largest airlines, and its subsidiaries have fixed all Boeing 737-800s, a total of 223 aircraft. The carrier said the landing was a precautionary measure, not an indication of any problems with the planes.
