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Crashed Lao Airlines aircraft's blackbox recovered from wreckage
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One of the blackbox units has been recovered from the wreckage of Lao Airlines flight QV301 which crashed into the Mekong on Oct. 16, Yakua Lopangkao, director general of the Lao Civil Aviation Department told Xinhua Friday.
The aircraft, a French made twin engine ATR 72-600, was carrying two blackbox units when it crashed in bad weather kilometers from its destination of Pakse International Airport.
According to Lao Civil Aviation Department Director General Yakua Lopangkao, the unit recovered is responsible for recording performance parameters and inputs sent to the aircraft's electronic systems. The data will provide officials with insight into the final tragic moments of flight QV301.
The aircraft's manufacturer and the French aviation accident investigation agency will take the unit back to France to collate the data. Full analysis of the blackbox unit's information could take up to a month.
Officials in Pakse are also closing in on the other blackbox unit, which remains submerged at the crashsite. The second unit is responsible for recording radio transmissions made to and from the plane as well as cockpit conversations and ambient sounds.
Lopangkao previously told Xinhua that the recovery efforts were made extremely difficult by the depth of the river and the strong wet-season current. The murky Mekong water offers almost zero visibility and a dangerous environment for recovery divers who are forced to navigate the riverbed by touch.
The flight took off from Lao capital Vientiane at 2:45 pm (0745 GMT) on Oct. 16 and was scheduled to land at Pakse International Airport in Champassak province a little over an hour later.
The aircraft hit the riverbank before coming to rest in the Mekong just seven kilometers from its destination. Officials believe the accident may have been caused by poor weather conditions in the wake of tropical storm Nari.
None of the 44 passengers and 5 crew of the QV301 survived the crash. The captain of the flight was an experienced pilot from Cambodia, according to Lao Airlines President Somphone Douangdara.
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