Taiwanese and US investigators are studying a series of "abnormal" sounds on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of the China Airlines (CAL) Boeing 747-200 that broke apart while near cruise height on 25 May and crashed into the Taiwan Strait. All 225 people in the 22-year-old aircraft were killed.
Despite speculation that a centre fuel tank explosion, similar to the one that caused a TWA 747 to crash in 1996, may have been to blame, investigators have found no evidence of an in-flight blast. Kay Yong, managing director of Taiwan's accident investigation body, the Aviation Safety Council, will not say that structural failure is a likely cause, although indications are that it is considered a possibility.
Yong says the flight data recorder "virtually tells us nothing". He describes three noises on the CVR: one as a "tapping" sound; another as "like a heartbeat"; and the third as "a strong hiss" at the time of power loss.
Source: Flight International
