Sukhoi plane's black box badly damaged

A key part of the black box of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane that crashed in Indonesia is still missing, while the remaining part that was recovered from the crash site was badly damaged.

"The recovered black box was burnt. It no longer retained its original orange colour but turned black," said Mr. Masruri, chairman of the aviation safety office, part of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) of Indonesia.

Russian and Indonesian officials hold part of the black box of the SSJ-100 at the search and rescue base in Cijeruk, near Mount Salak. Photo: AFP

According to the Jakarta Post, the black box that the Indonesian rescue team found 100 meters from the tail of the plane, at the foot of a deep ravine on Mount Salak, West Java province, was the cockpit voice recorder (VCR). Mr. Masruri hopes that the VCR is only severely damaged on the surface and that experts can still analyze the data inside it. The examination of the black box will be completely carried out by the Indonesian side.

The Indonesian rescue team is now focusing on finding the remaining part of the black box, the flight data recorder (FDR), to make it easier to analyze the cause of the accident. The VCR records the conversations between the pilots during the flight, while the FDR records the speed and altitude of the plane. These two parts were originally located next to each other, but due to the impact of the accident, the VCR and FDR were separated.

The Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100 crashed in Indonesia on May 9 while on a demonstration flight there as part of a six-country Asian tour. Forty-five people on board, most of them Indonesians, died. The investigation into the tragedy is likely to take more than a year.

According to Vnexpress.