Black boxes reveal no clues to Airbus crash
10:04AM Saturday Dec 27, 2008
The two black boxes from the Airbus that crashed off the French coast a month ago have not provided any information into the cause of the accident.
The Airbus A320 plunged into the sea near Perpignan on November 28, killing all seven on board - five New Zealanders and the two German pilots.
The A320 was in its final assessment before it was handed back to Air New Zealand after it had been leased to the German airline XL Airways.
The Washington Post said this week no useful information had been gleaned from either the cockpit voice recorder or the flight-data recorder.
The lack of progress had frustrated aviation safety experts on both sides of the Atlantic because the twin-engine A320 was considered a workhorse of airlines around the world, and the cause of the crash was keenly awaited, the Press reported.
Six of the bodies have so far been recovered, but none have yet been identified.
A team of divers would continue to search the wreckage for the remaining body this week, helped by an observation robot.
The French prosecutor expected to formally identify the bodies by mid-January.
Air New Zealand spokeswoman Tracy Mills said French authorities had not contacted Air New Zealand with any updates since early this month.
Four of the five New Zealanders on board were Air NZ staff.
They were Captain Brian Horrell, 52, from Auckland; engineers Murray White, 37, from Auckland, Michael Gyles, 49, from Christchurch, and Noel Marsh, 35, from Christchurch.
The fifth New Zealander was Civil Aviation Authority airworthiness inspector Jeremy Cook, 58, of Wellington.
A memorial service for Mr Marsh will be held at the Harewood Crematorium chapel in Christchurch on Monday morning.
- NZPA
Black boxes reveal no clues to Airbus crash - National - NZ Herald News