China Air Black Box Records Unknown Noises

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 24, 2002

China Air Black Box Records Unknown Noises

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Second 'Black Box' From the Crashed Plane Found

Taiwan investigators said Sunday they heard a series of unidentified sounds in the cockpit recordings of a China Airlines jet that mysteriously broke up in mid-air and crashed into the sea last month, killing 225 people.

"Our initial judgment is that it is not a sound from normal operation of the plane,'' said Kay Yong, managing director of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, who is also lead investigator for the air disaster.

"I do not know what the sound is,'' he said.

The recording raises more questions on the already mysterious accident. Aviation experts have floated several theories for the crash, including metal fatigue, an internal explosion, a mid-air collision or a military accident.

83 Bodies Recovered in Taiwan Air Crash

A team of experts including US investigators from the Boeing Co, the US National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration has listened to the recordings dozens of times, Yong said.

He said the investigation was still in the fact-finding stage and declined to comment on possible causes for the sounds.

The recording was taken from one of two "black boxes'' recovered earlier this week from the submerged wreck of the Boeing 747-200 which crashed off the islands of Penghu en route to Hong Kong.

As of yesterday some 161 bodies, including that of the co-pilot, have been recovered from the crash site; 153 have been identified.

Investigators have said it might take more than a year to determine the cause of the disaster -- China Airlines' fourth fatal accident since 1994.

All together, the accidents have claimed more than 650 lives.

Taiwan Air Crash

Accident:A China Airlines passenger jetliner with 206 passengers and 19 crew en route from Taipei to Hong Kong crashed into the Taiwan Straits off the island county of Penghu Saturday afternoon.

Rescue work: Taiwanese transportation authorities said that search vessels had found more than 100 bodies in the sea around 25 nautical miles north of Penghu where aChina Airlines jetliner crashed Saturday.

Condolences & external assistance: Soon after the crash, the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) sent a letter of condolences Saturday to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan. China's Communications Ministry Sunday afternoon sent two powerful tugboats to help the rescue work in the vicinity of the crash site.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Second Black Box From Airline Crash Recovered

Voice Recorder of Crashed CAL Plane Recovered

>> Full Coverage

Uncle Sam's Policy to Cross-Straits Ties against Its Own Interests ( 36 Messages)

Englishman Hired as Chief Advisor of Yunnan Provincial Government ( 67 Messages)

Home-made Auto Sales Head for 3 Million in 2002 ( 22 Messages)

South Korea Beat Spain 5-3 in Shootout to Enter World Cup Semis ( 11 Messages)

Chinese Scientists to Head for Suspected ET Relics ( 8 Messages)