2nd ‘black box’ found on mountain slope

Beijing, March 27

The second “black box” has been recovered from the crash of a China Eastern Boeing 737-800 that killed all 132 people on board last week, Chinese state media said on Sunday.

Firefighters taking part in the search found the recorder, an orange cylinder, on a mountain slope about 1.5 meters (5 feet) underground, state broadcaster CCTV said. Experts confirmed it was the second black box. The impact of the crash scattered debris widely and created a 20-meter deep pit in the side of the mountain.

Searchers had been looking for the flight data recorder after finding the cockpit voice recorder four days ago. The two recorders should help investigators determine what caused the plane to plummet from 29,000 feet and into a forested mountainside in southern China.

The search for the black boxes and wreckage from the plane has been complicated by the remote setting and rainy and muddy conditions. Flight MU5735 crashed Monday en route from the city of Kunming to Guangzhou. — AP