The Indonesian authorities have recovered one of the black boxes from the Sriwijaya Air plane which crashed in the Java Sea on Saturday, the Minister of Transport, Budi Karya Sumadi announced on Tuesday January 12th.
"The FDR (Flight Data Recorder, which records flight parameters, Editor's note) has been found," the minister told reporters, which should help investigators understand the causes of the accident which occurred a few minutes after takeoff from Jakarta.
The aircraft, which was carrying 62 people including 12 crew members, was to reach Pontianak, capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, when contact with air traffic control was lost.
The second black box located
According to Indonesian authorities, the second black box, the one that records conversations in the cockpit, has been located.
After the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered, Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) believes it can decipher the information gathered within three days.
Investigators currently have little clue as to the causes of the accident.
Regular tragedies
In October 2018, 189 people died in the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX that crashed in the Java Sea about 12 minutes after takeoff.
An accident also involving a Boeing 737 MAX in Ethiopia had resulted in the immobilization for months of this model of aircraft.
The US aircraft maker was fined $ 2.5 billion last week for misleading authorities during the device's approval process.
Sriwijaya Air's plane does not belong to the controversial new generation of Boeing 737 MAX but is a "classic" Boeing 737, 26 years old.
The airline industry in Indonesia has seen tragedies regularly in recent years and several airlines from this country have been banned in Europe in the past.
With Reuters and AFP
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