China Eastern plane crash: Second black box found; what we know so far

New Delhi: The second black box, which is believed to be the flight data recorder and can prove to be a significant lead in determining the cause of the crashed Chinese passenger plane, was found by the search team, state-run China Daily reported on Friday.

As per the media report, the second black box, which was located in the back of the plane, was stated to be the flight data recorder (FDR).

The flight data recorder stores information about speed, altitude and direction, as well as pilot actions and performance of important systems.

The first black box stated to be the cockpit voice recorder, (CVR) which was recovered earlier is being decoded at a laboratory in Beijing and the data downloading and analysis work is underway, officials said.

What we know so far

• The Boeing 737-800 plane with 132 people on board crashed on Monday in a village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou. No survivors have been found so far.
• China Eastern Airlines, which owned crashed airline and its subsidiaries temporarily grounded 223 Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the airline has launched a sweeping safety overhaul.
• So far, a total of 183 pieces of aircraft wreckage, some remains of victims and 21 pieces of belongings of victims have been found and handed over to the investigation team,
• Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China said the possibility that the data storage unit of the cockpit voice recorder was damaged cannot be ruled out at present.
• Hu Xiaobing, professor of the School of Safety Science and Engineering of the Civil Aviation University of China, told state-run CGTN that this crash is very unusual for it being vertical.
• All grounded aircraft are undergoing checks and maintenance according to the highest safety standards to ensure that they meet the airworthiness requirements, Liu said.
• Liu added that 305 family members of 56 passengers on board the crashed plane arrived at Wuzhou by Thursday morning, with over 200 family members visiting the crash site.
• On Thursday, pieces of engine wreckage from the crashed passenger plane have been found.

(With agency inputs)