Comoros: Yemenia flight data recorder found

MORONI, Comoros — Investigators on Friday retrieved the slightly damaged flight data recorder and 10 more bodies from a Yemenia Airways flight that crashed into the Indian Ocean June 30, officials said.

The black box was found underwater off the coast of the island nation’s capital, Moroni, according to the Comoros-based aviation investigation team. No details were provided about the other black box containing the voice recorder.

Yemenia Flight 626 crashed en route from Paris to Moroni via Yemen, killing 152 people. One teenage girl survived and is back home outside Paris.

Interior Minister Bourhane Hamidou said the black box found Friday is slightly damaged.

Red Cross co-ordinator Abdourhamane Bacari said 10 more bodies were found on the seafloor — in addition to the 27 bodies already been recovered.

In July, a French naval ship detected signal beacons from the flight data and cockpit recorders — key to determining the cause of the crash — at depths of 3,900 feet (1,200 meters) about nine miles (15 kilometers) northwest of Grand Comoros island. The ship, however, lacked the deep sea diving equipment needed to retrieve them.

A French ship carrying a special underwater robot arrived at the site Aug. 20 to continue the search for the black boxes and other plane debris.

The robot is fitted with propellers and a mechanical arm that can retrieve debris from the ocean floor. It has a specially designed metal casing up to an inch thick that protects its electrical components at pressures as low as 19,700 feet (6,000 meters) underwater. The robot also has remote-controlled cameras and sonar.

Angry relatives of victims killed in the crash have blamed Yemenia for operating a substandard plane, and the plane’s safety record was criticized by French authorities even before the crash.

The company denies the accusations, saying the crash was caused by high winds and bad weather.

An examination of the recovered flight data recorder should help resolve the dispute. Aviation experts from France, Yemen and Comoros are participating in the investigation.

Associated Press Writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.