Transport Dominique Bussereau answers journalists' questions after meeting relatives of the Yemenia airlines Airbus 310-300 flight IY 626. --PHOTO: AFP
PARIS - ONE of the black box flight recorders from the Yemenia jet which crashed off the Comoros has been located and efforts to retrieve it will begin on Wednesday, the French government said.
'The black box's signal was located yesterday (Tuesday) at 4.30pm local time (8.30pm Singapore time) by an aerial patrol, 40 kilometres from Grande Comore,' said Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet, quoted by a spokeswoman.
A French boat was to arrive on site later on Wednesday to start operations to recover the flight recorder, he added.
Meanwhile, Yemen's national carrier insisted on Wednesday it had a strict policy to ensure fleet maintenance after being criticised over its safety record following the crash of an airliner off the Comoros.
The Yemenia Airbus carrying 153 people plunged into the Indian Ocean near the Comoros islands on Tuesday, with one 14-year-old girl plucked alive from a sea of debris and dead bodies.
Yemenia said in a statement it 'implements a strict policy to ensure its aircraft are fully operational, with regular maintenance in line with international standards'.
French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said on Tuesday that French inspectors had in 2007 found numerous faults on the plane, an Airbus A310-300, and that the airline was being closely monitored by EU authorities.
'The plane had not since then reappeared in our country,' he said. -- AFP
