KUALA LUMPUR: The black box of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) AW139 helicopter (M72-01), which made an emergency landing during a rescue exercise on March 5 near the waters of Pulau Angsa, Kuala Selangor, was found today.
MMEA Director-General Maritime Admirah Datuk Hamid Mohd Amin said the black box was found by its rescue diving team after the search mission entered its 44th day, following the helicopter's tail being detected at a position 1.9 nautical miles south of Pulau Angsa, approximately 760 metres from the accident site.
"After successfully being retrieved from the seabed, the black box was taken to the laboratory to analyse the recording data to determine the real cause of the incident.
"We expect the data analysis results to be obtained soon as the black box did not suffer severe damage," he said in a statement today.
Earlier, the search operation for the black box involved 21 divers faced difficulties due to strong currents as well as limited visibility underwater due to muddy seabed.
In addition to the MMEA rescue divers, the search mission for the black box was also joined by the sonar crew of the Royal Malaysian Navy's National Hydrographic Centre (NHC), the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the service provider for MMEA aircraft Galaxy (M) Sdn Bhd, the Maritime Malaysia Air Operations Division, as well as the crew of Selangor State Maritime vessels and boats.