Air France Flight 447 data recorder recovered
03 May 2011
One of two flight recorders from an Air France plane that crashed off the coast of Brazil in 2009, on its way to Paris from Rio de Janeiro, has been recovered, officials said. The recorder was found partially embedded in sand on the sea bed.
Earlier, last week, the outer covering of the recorder was found with the inner data module missing. Though the French Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the device was "in good physical condition" there are concerns as to the extent of the damage the inner module may have experienced lying stripped of its outer cover for over two years.
The Air France Airbus Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris Charles de Gaulle, went down in the Atlantic on 1 June 2009, killing all 228 people on board.
The sunken wreckage was discovered last month after a long search of the sea floor.
The remains of the plane were found with the aid of deep-dive robots capable of operating 4,000m (13,120ft) below the ocean's surface.
The Paris-bound Air France jet went down after slamming into an intense high-altitude thunderstorm, four hours after take-off.
The data recorders will be sent back to Paris for testing.