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One black box recovered following China Eastern crash

Investigators have found what they believe to be the cockpit voice recorder in the wreckage of a China Eastern flight that crashed in the country’s south east with 132 people on board, a Chinese aviation official says.

The outer casing of one of the two “black boxes” aboard the plane and its storage component both suffered damage. But the unit is “relatively intact”, Zhu Tao, director of the Office of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aviation Authority of China, told reporters at a briefing yesterday afternoon.

The recorder will be sent to Beijing for decoding and analysis, Zhu said. How long that will take depends on the degree of damage the unit suffered, he said.

“This will provide important evidence as to the cause of the accident,” he said. Investigators will next “continue to go all-out to find the flight data recorder to provide even more comprehensive data support to reconstruct the entire incident”.

Images released earlier by state broadcaster CCTV showed workers placing a bright orange, mud-caked cylinder into a labelled zip-lock bag.

Recovering so-called black boxes – they are usually painted orange for visibility – is considered key to figuring out what caused a plane crash. They’re typically located in the tail area, where they’re less likely to be damaged in a crash.

AP

This morning’s headlines at a glance

Good morning and thanks for your company.

It’s Thursday, March 24. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.

Here’s what you need to know before we get started.

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed French parliament via video link. The Ukrainian leader asked politicians to hold a minute of silence for the victims of Russia’s invasion. He also questioned why some French multinational firms have not left Russia. Meanwhile, the Secretary General of NATO says Russia must stop threatening to use its nuclear weapons because no one wins nuclear war. United States President Joe Biden will soon meet with European leaders in person to discuss further support for Ukraine and additional Russian sanctions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Credit:AP

  • In local news, Ash Barty will hold a press conference around lunchtime to further explain her reasons for retiring from tennis. The world No.1 made the shock announcement yesterday. Earlier this year, the 25-year-old became the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil’s victory in 1978. We’ll be sure to bring you today’s press conference live.

Retiring world No.1 tennis player Ash Barty.Credit:Eddie Jim

  • And in other news, search efforts are continuing in southeast China following the China Eastern Air crash earlier this week. Yesterday, authorities managed to recover a badly damaged black box. They hope to find the second cockpit flight recorder as soon as today.

Search crews examine the wreckage of China Eastern flight MU5735.Credit:AP

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