MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. Deciphering of the data of the cockpit voice recorder of the passenger plane Boeing 737-800 that crashed in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don has been completed, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) reported on Monday.
"In the period from April 28 to May 12, the cockpit voice recorder data listening and protocoling (a total of 2 hours 3 minutes and 49 seconds of record) was carried out at the headquarters of the Interstate Aviation Committee together with representatives of the United States and United Arab Emirates. The voices of the plane’s crew members were identified with the participation of FlyDubai airline pilots. The protocol with the crew speech record was submitted to the investigation commission," the IAC statement says.
According to the report, the chairman of the investigation commission and the states’ authorized representatives informed each other about the conducted work and determined the further investigation activities.
A FlyDubai’s Boeing 737-800 crashed at Rostov-on-Don’s airport in the small hours on March 19 during a second attempt to land in complicated weather conditions of strong side wind and rain. The plane spent more than two hours in midair before attempting landing for the second time. It has not yet been established why the pilots opted not to land at an alternate destination.
The jet was serving regular Flight FZ 981 from Dubai. The passenger jet capable of carrying 189 passengers had 62 people aboard, including the crew. None survived. Criminal proceedings were instituted over the airliner crash under Article 263, part 3 of the Russian Criminal Code (violation of air transport traffic and operation rules, resulting in the death of two and more persons through negligence). Fly Dubai temporarily suspended flights to Rostov-on-Don after the crash.