Cockpit voice recorder of water bomber recovered from wreckage
The cockpit voice recorder of a Hercules C-130 water bomber that crashed in southern NSW has been found intact, near the wreckage.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Greg Hood said the recorder was stumbled upon as crews were sweeping the crash site at Peak View, near Cooma, for hazards.
ATSB Transport Safety Investigators retrieving the Cockpit Voice Recorder from the wreckage. PR IMAGE
The device, which typically records exchanges in the cockpit in the final two hours of the flight, has been sent to Canberra for analysis.
"We should have some indication tomorrow when the data is downloaded whether it's useful or not," Mr Hood said.
The bodies of three American firefighters - Captain Ian MacBeth of Montana, Paul Hudson of Montana and Rick DeMorgan of Florida - were recovered overnight.
Aerial view shows wreckage is strewn at the crash site of a firefighting air tanker near Numeralla. AP/AAP
Three crew from the U.S. were killed when their C-130 Hercules tanker crashed while fighting wildfires in Australia, their employer, Canada-based Coulson Aviation, said in a statement. (NSW Police via AP) AP/AAP
They were firefighting in the Snowy Monaro area on Thursday, when their aircraft went down, shortly after dropping fire retardant.
Representatives from Coulson Aviation - the contractor that owned the aircraft - will visit the scene tomorrow.
Investigators expect to spend at least a week at the crash site, which spans 1 kilometre and is in an active fire Zoe.
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