Crashed UPS 747 FDR recovered

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday it had recovered the flight data recorder from the UPS 747-400F that crashed Sept. 3 in Dubai, killing both pilots (ATW Daily News, Sept. 6). GCAA, which is leading the crash investigation, already had recovered the cockpit voice recorder. It said it will send the FDR and CVR, both found in "reasonable" condition, to the US for analysis. Meanwhile, Gulf Daily News reported that Bahrain's Civil Aviation Affairs agency will launch its own investigation into the incident. The pilots on the doomed 747 were in contact with Bahrain ATC when they reported problems including cockpit smoke. According the GCAA, Bahrain ATC informed UAE ATC that the aircraft, en route to Cologne, was returning to its departure airport, Dubai International, owing to an emergency. The pilots were reportedly unable to reestablish direct voice contact with UAE ATC after they had switched frequencies to contact Bahrain.