Navy Robot Finds Plane’s ‘Black Box’

A U.S. Navy robot retrieved two flight recorders from the ocean floor Wednesday. Investigators hope the “black boxes” will explain why a plane crashed into the sea this month, killing all 189 people on board.

Daniel Suazo, spokesman for the Dominican airline Alas Nacionales, told The Associated Press that the recorders were retrieved around midday, 16 hours after the U.S. vessel Marion C. II began its search.

An underwater robot guided by the ship found them at a depth of 7,200 feet about 14 miles north of the Dominican resort of Puerto Plata, Suazo said.

The crash investigation thus far had been hampered by lack of evidence. Rescuers recovered only 72 bodies from the sea and found no piece of the aircraft larger than a suitcase.

The following fields overflowed: DATELINE = SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC