Lebanon plane crash black box recovered

Lebanon said yesterday it has retrieved a black box from an Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed in the sea killing 90 people, raising hopes of an answer to why the plane came down in a fierce storm.

The military also announced that more bodies from the tragedy have been recovered, taking to 23 the total number found since last month's crash.

"The Lebanese navy has recovered a black box from the Ethiopian plane and it has been transported to Beirut naval base to be handed over" to crash investigators, the military said.

Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said the flight data recorder had been retrieved and that efforts continued to recover the cockpit voice recorder.

Searchers located the two recorders on Saturday and Lebanese military divers were tasked to retrieve them. The black boxes are expected to contain data which may explain why the crash happened.

The boxes were found under a rear section of the fuselage, Mr Aridi said, adding that the cockpit was also located yesterday.

The Boeing 737-800 plunged into the Mediterranean before dawn on January 25, just minutes after take-off from Beirut airport during a storm. It was bound for Addis Ababa with 83 passengers and seven crew on board.

No survivors were found from Flight 409, and searchers have been struggling to recover bodies from the crash as most victims were believed to be still strapped to their seats. Officials have described the salvage operation as "difficult and complicated."

"Eight bodies were recovered on Sunday," an army spokesman said on condition of anonymity, bringing to 23 the number retrieved. The bodies include those of two toddlers.

Health Minister Jawad Khalifeh said earlier yesterday that an unspecified number of bodies had been found at the site where the black boxes were located.

Officials have said the captain was instructed by the control tower to turn to a certain heading, but that the aircraft then took a different course.

The probe is being undertaken by a Lebanese technical team backed by the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), France's accident investigation agency, and a final report will go to Lebanon, Ethiopia and Boeing.