Defence officials on Thursday confirmed retrieval of the Flight Data Recorder, more popularly known as 'Black Box', of the ill-fated Indian Air Force helicopter Mi-17V5 that met with an accident and crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and 12 others were killed in the incident.
Two boxes, including the flight data recorder, or the black box, were found after authorities expanded the search area from 300 metres to one kilometre. They are likely to be taken to Delhi or Bengaluru to ascertain the cause of the crash, officials said.
The black box is likely to provide crucial data on the chain of events leading to the tragedy on the hills on Wednesday when the 63-year old Rawat, the country's first CDS, his wife and 11 others were killed when the Mi-17V5 helicopter they were travelling in crashed and went up in flames, leaving only one survivor.
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Rawat was on his way to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the staff course when the fatal mishap happened in the Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area.
