Indonesian navy divers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashed into the Java Sea on October 29, marking a breakthrough in the investigation that could answer vital questions about what caused the disaster that took the lives of all 189 people on board.
The CVR was buried under 25 feet of mud in the seabed and was found inside the current search area of 500 to 1,000 meters from the crash site, officials said.
This new search mission came after Lion Air ended its own search for the CVR just before midnight on December 29. In mid-December, the airline chartered an offshore supply ship from a Dutch firm for an estimated $2.62 million to find the black box but turned up nothing.
Strong currents, inclement weather, and interference from communication cables and oil pipelines in the area hampered previous efforts to mobilize search teams and locate the CVR.
The CVR will now be sent to crash investigators for analysis.
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