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NTSB: Black box indicates loss of control before Trinity Bay plane crash

WASHINGTON – An initial review of the black box recovered at the scene of last month’s plane crash into Trinity Bay indicates a loss of control of the aircraft just before the crash, officials at the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

Atlas Air Flight 3591, which was being operated on behalf of Amazon, crashed Feb. 23 into the waters off Anahuac, Texas.

NTSB investigators said both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder were recovered at the crash site over the weekend. An initial review of the data revealed the quality of the audio is poor, and there are times when it is difficult to make out what the crew is saying. However, crew communications indicate a loss of control of the plane about 18 seconds before the recording ends.

In this photo taken Saturday in the NTSB laboratory in Washington, an NTSB engineer from the Office of Research and Engineering’s Vehicle Recorder Division inspects memory boards from the cockpit voice recorder of Atlas Air Flight 3591 for signs of damage and water intrusion.

About 350 data points that were recorded by the black box detail the motion of the aircraft and the operation of its engines, flight controls and other systems, according to NTSB investigators.

An analysis of the devices continues and a summary of the data is expected to be provided in a few days, NTSB investigators said.

All three people aboard the twin-engine Boeing 767 were killed when the plane plunged into the water about 40 miles southeast of its destination at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. 

WATCH: Video shows cargo plane moments before crash


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