SAR team retrieves black box from ATR 42-500 crash site in Sulawesi

 The joint search and rescue (SAR) team has recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) from the wreckage of an Indonesia Air Transport (IAT) ATR 42-500 aircraft that crashed in South Sulawesi last week.

“At 11 a.m. local time, we found objects believed to be the aircraft’s black boxes,” Colonel Dody Triyo Hadi, an operations assistant at the XIV/Hasanuddin Military District Command, said in a video statement 

He confirmed that the team assigned to search the aircraft’s tail section had visually identified its location on Tuesday (January 20), where the black boxes were believed to be installed.

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the team was unable to immediately retrieve the devices and only approached the tail section on Wednesday to evacuate the black boxes.

“We removed the black boxes from their mounts and transported them to the checkpoint in Tompobulu village,” he said.

Both recorders were found intact in the aircraft’s tail section. The team has informed the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) to verify the findings.

“When we examined the tail section, the black boxes were still on their mounts and remained intact. We sent video documentation of the findings for verification,” Colonel Hadi added.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has also been notified, and SAR officers are awaiting further instructions.

Separately, Makassar Basarnas Office head, Muhammad Arif Anwar confirmed the recovery, saying the black boxes “have been secured by rescue teams and will be handed over to the NTSC” for investigation.

The ATR 42-500 aircraft was reported missing over Mount Bulusaraung while attempting to land at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar on January 17.

The aircraft was carrying 10 people, consisting of seven crew members and three passengers from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. Two victims have been found in the Bulusaraung mountainous area and evacuated to Bhayangkara Hospital in Makassar.

On Wednesday, the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team announced that it had successfully identified the first victim as a 33-year-old flight attendant named Florencia Lolita Wibisono. The second victim, a male, has yet to be identified.