Data Cockpit Voice Recorder MH17 Downloaded

THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS, July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

On Tuesday  22 July 2014 at 22:00 in Kiev, Ukraine, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders  (the 'black boxes') from the Malaysian Airlines flight 17 were taken into custody by the Dutch ambassador and a team of investigators led by the Dutch Safety Board. The Dutch Safety Board requested that the Air Accident Investigation Branch of the United Kingdom (AAIB) perform the data download from both the recorders. The recorders were transported to the AAIB's laboratory at Farnborough, arriving 23rd July in the early morning.

An international team of investigators has conducted a thorough examination of the Cockpit Voice Recorder. The Cockpit Voice Recorder was damaged but the memory module was intact. Furthermore no evidence or indications of manipulation of the Cockpit Voice Recorder was found. Following the examination, the Cockpit Voice Recorder data was successfully downloaded and contained valid data from the flight. The downloaded data has to be further analysed and investigated.

A thorough analysis of the information obtained will take time, the results of this will be included in the investigation. Tomorrow the team will start the examination of the Flight Data Recorder. This will show whether this recorder also contains relevant information, in which case the data from both recorders will be combined.