WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — An initial review of the flight data and cockpit voice recorder by the National Transportation Safety Board showed Atlas AIr Flight 3591 lost control before it crashed into Trinity Bay near Anahuac.
Preliminary information from the cockpit voice recorder indicated that control of the plane was lost before the end of the recording according to an NTSB news release.
Crew discussion in the final portion of the recording was "consistent with a loss control of the aircraft began approximately 18 seconds prior to the end of the recording" the release said.
The cockpit voice recorder recorded for about two hours and included the final portion of the flight but the audio quality was poor the NTSB said in the release.
Both members of the flight crew as well as pilot hitching a ride in the "jump-seat" were killed in the crash of the Boeing 767-300 cargo jet which was carrying cargo from Amazon and the U.S. Postal service from Miami to Houston the release said.
The jet crashed on Saturday afternoon, February 23, 2019, about about 40 miles from it's final destination at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Conditions at the crash site made it difficult to recover cockpit voice recorder was found on Friday and the flight data recorder was found on Sunday.
Engineers with the NTSB's Office of Research and Engineering Vehicle Recorder Division completed their initial review of the cockpit recording on Saturday evening the NTSB said.
The NTSB reported that the audio revealed the following information, which is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation continues...
The length of the recording is approximately two hours and was obtained from a download of a solid-state type cockpit voice recorder.
The recording included the final portion of the flight; however, the quality of the audio is poor.
There are times during the recording when the content of crew discussion is difficult to determine, at other times the content can be determined using advanced audio filtering.
The crew was in communication with air traffic control and were being provided radar vectors for the runway 26L approach into George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Crew communications consistent with a loss control of the aircraft began approximately 18 seconds prior to the end of the recording.
The flight data recorder arrived at the NTSB lab late Sunday night and the memory module was disassembled, cleaned and dried the release said.
Data from the device was downloaded in the lab on Monday afternoon and an initial review revealed...
The accident flight was captured, and the FDR contained a total of about 54 hours of data from 17 flights.
There were approximately 350 parameters recorded by the FDR detailing the motion of the aircraft and operation of its engines, flight controls and other systems.
All of the initial information is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation continues according to the release.
The NTSB plans to release a summary in a few days of the flight data which is being verified and validated by investigators.
Tech experts in the NTSB's cockpit voice recorder will be getting together in the coming week to review the entire two hour recording and produce a transcript of the recording.
The NTSB says the process will be time consuming for the group which is one of seven investigative groups established by the "Investigator-in-Charge" for the accident investigation.