Atlas 3591 Cockpit Voice Recorder Found

The NTSB has located and recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 cargo jet that crashed in Trinity Bay in Anahuac, Texas, on Saturday. The flight data recorder has not yet been located. According to the NTSB, the CVR is being transported to the NTSB labs in Washington, D.C., for evaluation. All three people onboard were killed in the accident.

"Our union family is devastated and mourns the loss of our colleagues and crew members, Capt. Ricky Blakely and First Officer Conrad Jules Aska, and a fellow aviator from Mesa Airlines, pilot Sean Archuleta," said Teamsters Local 1224 President and Atlas Air captain Daniel C. Wells. "Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families and friends of the three crew members involved. At this time we're focused on doing everything we can to support them and to provide counseling to any pilots and their family members who are feeling the pain of this tremendous loss."

As previously reported by AVweb, Atlas Air Flight 3591 was being operated for Amazon Prime. The aircraft departed from Miami International Airport (MIA) at approximately 11:30 a.m. Eastern time and went down around 30 miles southeast of Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), its intended destination. It has been reported that the aircraft made a sharp turn and began a rapid descent while on approach to IAH. No emergency communications were received. Recovery efforts are still underway and investigators are onsite.