ROBOTIC DEVICE DEPLOYED TO FIND BLACK BOXES

The Moscow Times, Russia
May 17 2006

The federal government launched an operation Tuesday to recover the
flight recorders from an Armenian passenger plane that crashed in
the Black Sea, sending a robotic device with a hydraulic arm to the
sea floor in an attempt to bring up the “black boxes.”

Authorities hope the recorders will help determine the cause of the
May 3 crash of the Armavia Airbus A320, which plunged into the sea
in heavy rain and poor visibility as it approached the airport on
a flight from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to the resort city of
Sochi, killing all 113 people on board.

An official involved in the operation said the recovery device was
lowered from a ship and reached the sea floor, where the recorders
were believed to be lying about 5 meters apart at a depth of just
under 500 meters, Itar-Tass reported.

The RT-1000 apparatus has been used by geologists to lift natural
objects weighing up to 40 kilograms from the sea floor, but has
not been used at such depths, Itar-Tass quoted a Transport Ministry
official, Alexander Davydenko, as saying. He said authorities believed
the device could lift fragments weighing up to 12 kilograms and the
flight recorders, which weigh 7 kilograms, the report said.

The operation to retrieve the boxes could take three days, officials
said.

Prosecutors dismissed the possibility of terrorism, and officials
pointed to the rough weather or pilot error as the likely cause. But
Armavia officials suggest air traffic controllers should at least
share the blame.(AP)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress