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BEIJING (AP) — The second black box from the China Eastern Boeing 737-800 that crashed Monday has been found, Chinese state media said Sunday. All 132 people on board were killed.
Firefighters involved in the search found the recorder, an orange cylinder, on a mountainside about 1.5 meters (5 feet) down, according to state television CCTV. Experts confirmed that it was the second black box. The impact of the crash widely scattered the aircraft wreckage and created a 20-meter (65-foot) deep hole in the coast of the mountain.
Search teams were trying to locate the device that records flight data after finding the cockpit voice recorder four days ago. The two should help investigators determine what caused the plane to plummet from 8,800 meters (29,000 feet) and crash into a forested mountain in southern China.
The search for the black boxes has been complicated by the remoteness of the location and the rainy and muddy conditions. A video shared by CGTN, the international arm of CCTV, showed an official at the scene displaying the orange, can-like object with the words “RECORDER” and “DO NOT OPEN” written on it. It looked a little dented but whole.
Flight MU5735 crashed on Monday en route from the southeastern Chinese city of Kunming to the city of Guangzhou, a major export manufacturing hub near Hong Kong. An air traffic controller tried to contact the pilots several times after seeing the plane rapidly lose altitude, but received no response, according to authorities.
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