China Eastern Airlines Update: 2nd Black Box From Flight MU5735 Discovered ‘Badly Damaged’

As the investigation continues into what caused Flight MU5735 to crash, the second black box from the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 has been found.

On Sunday, officials reported firefighters from the search discovered the slightly dented flight data recorder about 130 feet from the point of impact and five feet underground.

Searchers were able to find the second black box after spotting a flash of the orange cylinder case while digging through the muddy area. The flight recorder is used to collect data about the plane’s speed, altitude, motion, and mechanical performance.

“The other parts of the recorder have been badly damaged, but the exterior of the data storage unit appears quite OK,” Zhu Tao, an aviation safety official at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said during a news conference.

Investigators are hopeful that the two black boxes will help determine what caused the China Eastern Airlines passenger plane to lose 29,000 feet of altitude in over a minute and eventually crash into a hillside in the region of Guangxi, killing all 132 onboard.

The impact of the plane created a 65-foot-deep pit at the crash site and scattered debris along the side of the mountain.

However, aviation officials have previously warned that both of the black boxes may have sustained damage, making it difficult to retrieve data.

The crash took place Monday about an hour into the flight from Kunming to Guangzhou. Air traffic control attempted to contact the pilots several times after noticing the plane’s drop in altitude but received no answer.

The Flight MU5735 cockpit voice recorder was discovered on Wednesday and sent to a Beijing lab to be analyzed.

While officials will continue to recover debris from the crash site, the search was paused on Sunday to take a three-minute moment of silence for the passengers and crew members as sirens blared.