CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA (AP) – Divers have recovered the flight data recorder from an Australia army helicopter that crashed at sea, killing the four crewmembers, during a military exercise with the United States last month, officials said yesterday.
Recovering the black box was a priority to help determine the cause of the crash of the MRH-90 Taipan during a nighttime operation on July 28 in the Whitsunday Islands off the northeast Australian coast.
Navy divers retrieved the device containing the helicopter’s flight data and cockpit voice recordings on Monday, a Defence Department statement said.
A drone spotted human remains in the wreckage last week at a depth of 40 metres. But the remains have yet to be retrieved because of bad weather and strong currents.
Australia’s fleet of more than 40 Taipans has been grounded since the crash and there are doubts any will fly again.
The government said they will remain grounded until crash investigators have found a cause of the tragedy.
