Cockpit voice recorder of ill-fated PIA plane recovered from Karachi crash site

The cockpit voice recorder from the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303 plane crash incident in Karachi on May 22 has finally been recovered, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed today.

The cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the rubble in the residential area where the plane crashed. The equipment will greatly help the investigation and will provide important clues about what happened in the moments preceding the crash.

The PIA spokesperson said the recorder had been handed over to the team investigating the incident.

Separately, the Airbus technical team in its statement said the Pakistani authorities have requested them to decode the voice recorder.

"We have spoken to the Pakistani team about moving the voice recorder and flight recorder to France,” the statement said, adding that data from both will be decoded in France.

A day earlier, the process of removing the wreckage of the plane that crashed last week in the metropolis' Model Colony started, with the exception of the airliner's engine, landing gear, and avionics.

Removal of the wreckage commenced after permission from the Airbus investigation team that had arrived in Karachi on Tuesday. The experts have collected crucial evidence from the crash site as well.

Trawlers, heavy machinery, and various other vehicles were being used to move the pieces — including its cabin and tail — of the crashed plane; however, its engine, landing gear, and avionics were left behind until the Airbus' team of experts completed their work.

The process was being monitored by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), and the Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) engineering and technical ground support staff.

Karachi plane crash: 97 killed, only two survive

The PIA plane crashed into a narrow residential street in Karachi on Friday, damaging several houses in a densely-populated area in the vicinity of the airport. Of the 99 people aboard, 97 were killed and only two passengers survived.

Soon after the crash, authorities had cordoned off the site and banned the transfer of objects from there until the Airbus team arrived to carry out a formal investigation into the incident.

In an earlier letter, the Airbus team had said that they do not have any conclusive details regarding the crash.

The PIA and Air France will also assist the plane manufacturer in the investigation.

The PK-8303 tragedy has become the third most-catastrophic aviation disaster in the country's history.

In a recent letter issued on Sunday to all airlines operating the A320 narrow-body jets, Airbus said it will provide full technical cooperation to the PIA, Air France, and engine manufacturer CFM International after the crash.

The ill-fated Airbus A320 plane was handed over to the PIA in 2014 and had completed 47,100 flight hours and 25,860 flight cycles until its crash.