Firefighters involved in the search found the recorder, an orange cylinder, on a mountain slope about 1.5 meters below the ground, state television network CCTV reported. Experts confirmed that it was the second black box. The impact of the crash widely scattered the debris and created a pit 20 meters deep on the slope of the mountain. The researchers were looking for the flight data recorder after finding the voice recorder in the cockpit four days ago. The two logs should help researchers determine what caused the plane to fall from 8,800 meters on a wooded hillside in southern China. The search for black boxes and debris from the plane is complicated by the remote environment and rain and mud conditions. The video, released by CGTN, the international arm of CCTV, showed an official holding a box-shaped orange object with the words “RECORDER” and “DO NOT OPEN” on it. It looked slightly sunken but intact.
Hundreds of searchers combing the site
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 has been sent to Beijing for examination and analysis. Hundreds of researchers 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 the passages to the site, while pumps are used to drain the collected water from the rain. Officials said late Saturday that there were no survivors among the 123 passengers and nine crew members. DNA analysis confirmed the identities of 120 of the passengers, they said. Investigators found IDs and bank cards belonging to the victims. 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. 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.
