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Belly-landed Airbus A321’s flight recorders in normal condition - IAC

Now the data are being deciphered and analyzed

© Dmitry Golubovich/TASS

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. The flight recorders from the Airbus A321 passenger plane that belly-landed at a cornfield near Moscow earlier this week, are in normal conditions. The data are being deciphered and analyzed, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said on Sunday.

"The flight recorders (the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder) were examined at the IAC’s research and technical center. They are in a normal condition. The data are being deciphered and analyzed," as follows from a press statement posted on the IAC’s website.

According to the IAX, the commission probing into the accident includes specialists from Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency and an officer from France’s BEA accident investigation bureau. "Apart from that, the commission includes specialists from the aircraft and engine manufacturers and an authorized representative from the United Kingdom who represents the interests of the state where the aircraft is registered (the Islands of Bermuda)," the IAC said.

On August 15, the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 with over 230 people aboard, including 41 children, was heading to Simferopol from Moscow when it struck a flock of birds shortly after the takeoff. Both of the aircraft’s engines sucked in some of them and caught fire. The crew managed to land the plane in a cornfield and evacuate all passengers.

According to latest updates, 76 people, including 19 children, received minor injuries during the crash-landing. One woman was taken to hospital.

On August 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed the Hero of Russia titles on the two Ural Airlines pilots. Other crewmembers have been awarded the Orders of Courage.

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