THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290302
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
A U.S. Navy robot retrieved two flight recorders from the ocean floor Wednesday. Investigators hope the ``black boxes'' will explain why a plane crashed into the sea this month, killing all 189 people on board.
Daniel Suazo, spokesman for the Dominican airline Alas Nacionales, said the recorders were retrieved 16 hours after the U.S. vessel Marion C. II began its search.
An underwater robot guided by the ship found them at a depth of 7,200 feet about 14 miles north of the Dominican resort of Puerto Plata, Suazo said.
Alas Flight 301, a Boeing 757 en route to Frankfurt and Berlin, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean six minutes after taking off Feb. 6 from Puerto Plata. Along with German tourists, it was carrying 11 Turkish crew members, two Dominican flight attendants and seven Poles.
The crash investigation had been hampered by lack of evidence. Rescuers recovered only 72 bodies from the sea and found no piece of the aircraft larger than a suitcase.
Locator signals from the ``black boxes'' were pinpointed Feb. 14. On Monday, the countries and companies involved agreed to share the $1.4 million in recovery costs. Those contributing include the Dominican and German governments; Boeing, which built the aircraft; Rolls Royce, which built the engines; and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
The black boxes were being flown to Washington for analysis at the NTSB headquarters. by CNB