The flight data recorder from the Lao Airlines ATR 72-600 that crashed into the Mekong river near Pakse was recovered on 31 October, more than two weeks after the fatal accident.
“The recovered black box is well kept by the authority, more information will be released later on,” says the airline’s vice-president Somsamay Visounnarath. It is unclear whether a decision has been made to send the flight data recorder overseas or to keep it in Laos for analysis.
The turboprop's cockpit voice recorder, however, has not yet been recovered.
“The signal of the remaining black box has been detected, authorities are exerting all their efforts to recover the remaining black box as soon as possible,” says Visounnarath.
Recovery efforts have been slow because of the Mekong river’s strong current and lack of visibility in the water.
The turboprop, registered as RDPL-34233, had accumulated 758 flight hours before the crash. It was delivered new to the airline this March and underwent an A-check in September.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
