'Black Boxes' Sent To The United Kingdom After International Backlash

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) recovered from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 which was shot down over Ukraine have been sent to the United Kingdom for analysis, according to the government of Malaysia.

The French news service AFP reports that, according to a statement from Malaysian Transport Minister Lio Tiong Lia, it is normal procedure to send the recorders to the nearest facility approved by ICAO for analysis. "The international investigation team, led by the Netherlands, has decided to pass the black boxes to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch for forensic analysis," he said.

The devices had originally been under the control of the pro-Russian rebels controlling the portion of Ukraine where MH17 was shot down, but an international outcry led them to turn the recorders over to Malaysian officials, which in turn shipped them to the AAIB.

The return of the CVR and FDR are part of a broader agreement that allows the bodies of those fatally injured in the incident to be sent to the Netherlands for analysis before being returned to their families. 193 of the passengers aboard the Malaysian Airlines 777 were Dutch.

FMI: www.aaib.gov.uk