Douala Crash Cockpit Voice Recorder Recovered

The CVR from Kenya Airways Flight KQ507 that crashed on 05 May was recovered Friday, and is being sent to Canada for analysis. A team of 22 Cameroon firemen and eight operators of a battery of heavy duty pumps managed to drain the crash crater sufficiently to recover the CVR and additional pieces of wreckage. Recovery of the CVR became even more critical after a Canadian Transportation Safety Board examination of the Flight Data Recorder's contents failed to disclose any mechanical reason for the accident. In a preliminary report it was noted that the 737-800 had reached 3000 feet before suddenly diving into the ground at a very steep angle - and for a yet unknown reason. Although the flight was delayed about an hour because of thunderstorms and heavy rain, the preliminary report suggested that conditions had cleared by the time the plane took off. Pilot flight instrumentation failure and jamming of spoilers have been two possible explanations put forward, based upon recent specific failures experienced in that particular model of the 737. The crash is being investigated by a team made up of the US NTSB, Kenyan and Canadian Authorities - with some assistance from Boeing technical experts.  Related Link