Venezuela crash black boxes found

He said one contained recordings of the pilots’ conversations and the other held technical data.

 

Searchers were still trying to recover the charred remains of the 43 passengers and three crew members.

 

“There are 36 officials [on scene] and we have sent up 180 kilos (400 pounds) of food and logistical support,” Vinas said.

 

Before the crash, the weather had been good and the roughly 20-year-old twin-engined plane had a solid maintenance record and no history of technical problems, authorities said.

 

The pilot had specialist training for flying through the Andes and made no distress calls before the plane crashed.

 

For years, Venezuelans have debated whether Merida’s airport should be shut because, although relatively few accidents have been recorded, it is hemmed in by mountains.

 

Mountain villagers in the Andes reported hearing a loud noise they thought could be a crash soon after the disappearance of flight 518, Gerardo Rojas, a civil defence official said on Friday.

 

Search teams later found the wreckage of the aircraft, an ATR 42-300, a turboprop aircraft built by French-Italian company ATR.

 

French investigators and an ATR team were expected to travel to Venezuela where they will help in the crash investigation.